Manish Pandey on track for national reckoning
Manish Pandey's attacking century in the final underlined his transformation from a no-name cricketer to a worthy contender for a place in the national squad
Siddarth Ravindran in Mysore
14-Jan-2010

Manish Pandey's attacking century, though not adequate to win Karnataka the Ranji Trophy title, has done his prospects for selection into the national squad no harm • Sportz Solutions
Eight months ago, Manish Pandey was a no-name cricketer who had flopped at the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, failed in his first domestic season, and been a fringe player in the inaugural IPL. Then came the out-of-the-blue century for the Royal
Challengers Bangalore, and his profile skyrocketed.
That innings contained plenty of miscues and clear-the-front-leg slogs to
midwicket, leaving skeptics wondering whether he could cut it in
first-class cricket. Pandey's response was emphatic: a country-high 882
runs in the season, not many of which came from fill-your-boots innings on
flat tracks with the game dead.
Pandey has turned into Karnataka's Mr Fix-it. He grabbed the headlines
with a belligerent
194 in the season-opener against a strong Uttar Pradesh after his team were 27
for 3. There was the 72-ball 67
to shepherd Karnataka to a stiff 241 to get five points against
Saurashtra. And the vital 115
to drag his side past Punjab's first-innings total, an effort that secured a spot in
the semi-finals for only the second time in 11 years.
Perhaps to bulldoze any lingering doubts, he was set his sternest test in
the final: to chase the stiffest ever target in the title clash, against
the 38-time champions on a pitch helping the seamers, with the top-order
folding meekly and the rock-steady Rahul Dravid watching the game at home.
Pandey nearly pulled it off in an exhilarating counterattack that should
propel him into the bunch of contenders eyeing a spot in the national
squad.
A solid defence and resolute temperament underpin his flashy
stroke-making, all of which were on display at the Gangothri Glades.
Aavishkar Salvi had nabbed him for a first-ball duck in the first innings,
but this time three of Salvi's first four deliveries were dispatched to
boundaries. The lack of runs from his partner, G Satish, also didn't
affect him, as he continued to attack whenever the opportunity presented
itself.
Mumbai coach Praveen Amre had spoken about Pandey's tendency to play a
little loosely outside off, and that nearly cut short Pandey's innings on
44, but the nick hit wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant on his wrists instead of
going into his gloves. He watchfully defended for a few overs after that
before unleashing perhaps the shot of the innings: an authoritative
front-foot pull to midwicket off the quickest bowler of the match, Ajit
Agarkar, to raise his half-century.
Karnataka started the fourth day needing 203 more runs. Instead of
worrying about the number of wickets that tumbled in the mornings over the
past three days, he just continued to blaze away. Agarkar was taken for
three boundaries in an over, and there was no slowing down in the nineties
either, staying there for only four deliveries. A periscopic hit to fine
leg brought up an unforgettable century. But with Karnataka still a long
way off, there were no extravagant celebrations, just a calm wave of the
bat to the dressing room and the fans after removing his helmet.
As the number of runs required shrank, Mumbai started to look ragged. An
on-drive from Pandey off Ramesh Powar just about eluded mid-on and had Salvi on
his backside after he sprinted across from midwicket, only to get a hand on
the ball and see it trickle for four. A quick single to mid-on off the
next ball got an extra run after the direct-hit ricochet away from the
fielder backing-up. The vociferous crowd was sure Karnataka were heading
to a historic victory.
It was not be, though, as yet again Mumbai found a way to break the
opposition. Iqbal Abdulla, who had bowled all of two overs in the match,
managed to get one to turn away from Pandey and take the outside edge to a
delighted Jaffer at first slip. Pandey could only watch from the pavilion
as his team-mates were wheedled out and Karnataka's wait for a Ranji title
continued.
The IPL innings gave him his ticket out of anonymity, and today's effort
will guarantee him a place in the ones-to-watch list of the national
selectors. "I rate this innings equally with my IPL hundred, both came in
important matches," he said. "Mumbai is the best side in domestic cricket,
so it was very satisfying to get a hundred against them."
Siddarth Ravindran is a sub-editor at Cricinfo