Mumbai Indians recall Hardik Pandya's maiden Test century on this day in 2017

Hardik Pandya had an outstanding 2017. It was arguably the year when he had emerged as the 'next big thing' in world cricket. Hardik was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad that had won their third IPL title that year. He also scored a quickfire 76 against Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 final to delay the inevitable after the Men In Blue were reduced to 72/6 chasing a stiff target of 339. However, his valiant knock was not enough as the then defending champions lost the contest by a mammoth 180 runs.

However, he achieved another feat after nearly two months from that CT Final and it was his maiden Test hundred in an away series against Sri Lanka.  He had first made a tremendous impact in red-ball cricket on this very day three years ago as his IPL team Mumbai Indians decided to pay a special tribute to their ace all-rounder.

'Always special': Mumbai Indians

Taking to the micro-blogging site, MI had posted an image of Pandya posing with his Man of the Match award as well as the winners' trophy and then mentioned that 'Maiden Test ton is always special'. 

The 26-year-old had played this splendid inning in the third and final Test match at, Pallekele.

The star all-rounder had scored a brilliant 96-ball 108 at a strike rate of 112.50 that included eight boundaries and seven maximum batting at the middle-order after Indian skipper Virat Kohli had won the toss and elected to bat first as they were bundled out for 487. In reply, Kohli enforced the follow-on on the hosts after they were dismissed for a paltry 135. 
The Lankans in their second innings were bowled out for 181 as India won the contest by an innings and 171 runs and handed a 3-0 whitewash to Sri Lanka.

Hardik Pandya in IPL 2020

The IPL 2020 will be played in the UAE from September 19 to November 10. Pandya will be representing the four-time winners and reigning champions Mumbai Indians for the upcoming season where they will not only be hoping to retain their title but at the same time will also be eyeing their record fifth IPL crown.  

What's so special about IPL 2020?

Coming back to IPL 2020, it will also be the first time that an IPL final will be played on a weekday. The tournament decider will be played on the day of Diwali. This will be the third time that the IPL will be held outside India (after 2009, and 2014 editions) and at the same time, it will also be the second occasion after 2009 where all the IPL matches will be played abroad.

The 2009 edition was entirely held in South Africa due to the General Elections. The tournament was won by the now-defunct Deccan Chargers who had edged past the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a low-scoring thriller. The first half of the 2014 edition was held in the UAE due to the General Elections while the second half of that tournament was played in India.