On this day in 2017: Hardik Pandya registered his maiden Test ton

New Delhi [India], Aug 13 (ANI): It was on August 13, 2017, when all-rounder Hardik Pandya registered his first century in the longest format of the game.
He achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in the final Test of the three-match series at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Batting first, India got off to a tremendous start as openers Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul put on 188 runs for the first wicket.
Dhawan played a knock of 119 runs while Rahul registered 85 runs.
Pandya walked out to the middle with India at 296/5, and from there, the all-rounder smashed eight boundaries and seven sixes to bring up his maiden ton in Test cricket.
In the end, India was bowled out for 487.
The visitors then bundled out Sri Lanka for 135 in the first innings as Kuldeep Yadav scalped four wickets.
India enforced the follow on and again bundled out the hosts cheaply for 181 as Ravi Ashwin took four wickets.
The Virat Kohli-led side won the match by an innings and 171 runs.
Pandya, who was out of the Indian team due to back injury, was to make a comeback during the South Africa tour of India.
However, the first match of the series got washed out due to rain before the series was eventually postponed following the outbreak of coronavirus.
The 26-year-old has played 11 Tests, 54 ODIs and 40 T20Is for Men in Blue, scoring 1,799 runs across all formats. He has also bagged 109 wickets for the Indian side.
The player will return to the cricket field in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he will don Mumbai Indians jersey.
The IPL 2020 will be played in UAE from September 19 - November 10. (ANI)

Raj Kantak

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