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Manish Pandey will forever be remembered as the first Indian cricketer to reach the three-figure mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL). It was a coming-of-age innings from the then-teenager, which propelled Royals Challengers Bangalore (RCB) into the knock-out stage of the IPL 2009.
Ever since then, there’s been no looking back for Pandey, who soon barged into Karnataka’s team and cemented his position as a top-order batsman. He now captains his home-state in the domestic circuit.
However, the Nainital-born had to wait for another six years since his IPL century to make debut for Team India. Pandey’s well-paced, gutsy knock of 71 runs stabilised India’s innings after the top-order fell apart like a deck of cards. India defeated Zimbabwe by 83 runs, courtesy a stellar 144 runs partnership between Pandey and Kedar Jadhav.
As the stylish right-hander gets a year older, on Thursday (September 10), let’s reminisce a special moment when Pandey amazed the cricketing world with a terrific one-hand catch.
It was the second ODI of the three-match series against Australia in January 2020. Pandey, stationed at the cover point, defied gravity to take a one-hand stunner to send David Warner back to the pavilion.
For Warner and the rest of the players alike, it took a moment to make sense of what transpired in front of their watchful eyes.
Relive the moment here:
It took an ABSOLUTE STUNNER from #ManishPandey to get 🇮🇳 their 1st wicket of the series! 🤩#BattleOfEquals #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/PO5Lvv9oqB
— Hotstar Canada (@hotstarcanada) January 17, 2020
VVS Laxman backs Pandey for a terrific campaign in IPL 2020
Pandey’s last appearance for ‘Men in Blues’ came in a T20I fixture against New Zealand in 2020. He will be next seen in action while plying his trade for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), in the 2020 edition of the cash-rich league.
VVS Laxman, former India cricketer and SRH mentor, feels that Pandey’s exploits in the last outing for Team India will be a massive confidence booster for the latter.
“Manish Pandey must have grown in confidence after his performance for India, even at No. 6, Vijay Shankar will be motivated to perform. We have overseas players like (Mohammad) Nabi, (Mitchell) Marsh and Fabian Allen, who if they play to their potential can be unstoppable,” Laxman said.
