Baroda's Hardik Pandya and Irfan Pathan performed with the bat and the ball to take their team to a six-wicket win against Gujarat. The pair dismantled the Gujarat line-up and paved the way for Baroda victory and then returned to chase down the sub-par target after Baroda lost three wickets with 12 runs on the board. In the day-night clash at Wankhede Stadium, Irfan set the tone of the innings by claiming three wickets in his second over and finished with 4-1-17-3, while Hardik finished with 4-1-7-3. The pair’s 58-run partnership then ensured Baroda attained the 80-run target comfortably.
Irfan Pathan pushed Gujarat on the back foot by claiming three wickets in the third over to reduce them to 12 for the loss of three wickets. Parthiv Patel was the first to depart, caught by Solanki in the mid-wicket area. Rujul Bhatt then edged the ball to the slips and Aditya Waghmode dove to take the catch, while Manpreet Juneja was caught by the wicketkeeper down the leg side.
Lukman Meriwala then followed up with the wicket of Venugopal Rao. The batsman departed offering a catch to Solanki at mid-wicket. 17 runs later, Akshar Patel was castled by Hardik Pandya for five.
With half the side back in the dugout and the team struggling to score runs, Jesal Karia joined Smit Patel in the middle. But they weren’t allowed an opportunity to rebuild the innings as Hardik pushed them further in the corner by dealing a double-blow in the 13th over to leave them gasping on 56 for seven. Smit Patel lost his stumps to the bowler, while Rohit Dahiya nicked the ball to Pinal Shah behind the wicket. During his four overs on the trot, Hardik left no scope for Gujarat to recover.
While attempting a single, MB Patel was the next to return to the pavilion. A direct hit by Aditya Waghmode from point reduced Gujarat to 64 for eight. Jasprit Bumrah was then sent back by Krunal Pandya. A mix-up in the middle brought the innings to an end for 79 runs with Karia getting run out with eight balls left in the innings.
Kedar Devdhar and Waghmode then came out to chase the paltry target. Jasprit Bumrah hit the deck hard from the word go and Thakore got the breakthrough in the next. He trapped Devdhar leg-before for four. In the following over, Bumrah dislodged Waghmode’s bails to leave the team on six for two in the third over. A bit later, Solanki was sent back by Thakore to leave Gujarat on 12 for three.
Irfan and Hardik then joined forces with Baroda needing 68 to win. They ensured that there were no further lapses as they closed in on the target. They brought up the 50 of the partnership off 51 balls. Hardik was the more aggressive of the two, while Irfan was content in playing the supporting role. However, with 10 runs required, Hardik returned for 37. Yusuf Pathan then joined Irfan in taking the team to victory with a six.
