DY Patil T20 Cup: Fit-again Hardik Pandya hits unbeaten 158 from 55 balls to power Reliance One to 104-run victory over BPCL

Navi Mumbai: Fit-again India all-rounder Hardik Pandya blazed his way to an unbeaten 158 off just 55 balls against BPCL in a semifinal match of the DY Patil T20 Cup on Friday. Pandya, who returned to competitive cricket in this tournament after undergoing back surgery, struck six fours and 20 sixes during his blitzkrieg to help Reliance One post 238/4 in their 20 overs.

Good win today 💪 Getting into the groove day by day. pic.twitter.com/5YaPRjJIQn

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) March 3, 2020

He had smashed his way to a sensational 105 off just 39 balls on Tuesday in a league game for Reliance One at the RCP at Ghansoli. Pandya was in a red-hot form on Friday also as he punished the BPCL bowlers with an array of sixes. The BPCL bowlers — Sandeep Sharma (0/37), Sylvester D’Souza (1/56), India all-rounder Shivam Dube (1/40), Parikshit Valsangkar (0/28), Sagar Udeshi (0/45) and Rahul Tripathi (2/32) — were hammered by Hardik, who looks all set to make a comeback to the ODI team versus South Africa. However, India opener Shikhar Dhawan, who is also on the road to recovery from an injury, managed to score just 3 runs for Reliance One. In response, BPCL were bowled out for 134 as Reliance 1 registered a 104-run victory. While bowling too, Hardik took a wicket and conceded six runs in one over. India speedster Bhuvneshwar Kumar also picked up a wicket for Reliance One.