Punjab Newsline, Sports :
Gaikwad and Jagadeesan score centuries; Hardik Pandya’s blistering half-century steals the spotlight
The seventh round of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025–26 is being played on Thursday (January 8) across four venues—Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jaipur, and Bengaluru. The round has witnessed intense competition among teams, while standout batting performances have grabbed widespread attention.
In this phase of the tournament, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Narayan Jagadeesan produced impressive century knocks to put their respective teams in strong positions. Both batters displayed a fine balance of composure and aggression, consistently keeping the opposition bowlers under pressure. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya delivered one of the most talked-about performances of the round, smashing a half-century in just 19 balls and finishing with a rapid 75-run innings. His power-hitting and attacking approach added excitement to the contest.
In Group A, matches are being played between Jharkhand and Tripura, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry and Rajasthan. These encounters are crucial, with teams battling hard to improve their standings on the points table.
Group B features Baroda taking on Chandigarh, Hyderabad facing Jammu and Kashmir, Assam competing against Vidarbha, and Bengal locking horns with Uttar Pradesh. Each of these matches carries significant importance as teams push for qualification.
In Group C, Goa are up against Maharashtra, Mumbai face Punjab, Chhattisgarh play Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh take on Sikkim. The contests in this group have also drawn attention due to closely matched sides.
Group D includes matches between Andhra and Services, Delhi and Haryana, Gujarat and Saurashtra, and Odisha and Railways. The results of these seventh-round fixtures are expected to play a key role in shaping the points table and determining the teams advancing toward the knockout stage.