Manish Pandey hogs limelight with quick-fire century in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Out of favour Indian batsman, Manish Pandey came up with yet another blistering innings in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as he smashed a ton for Karnataka against Arunachal Pradesh at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. The captain came out to bat at number four after the dismissal of Rohan Kadam. He kicked off his innings in an aggressive manner and took the charge straightaway.

Karnataka’s score flew to 226 from 60/3, courtesy Pandey’s century. Karnataka lost an early wicket of Mayank Agarwal (15 off 9) in the fourth over. Karun Nair could just manage 11 off 11. Rohan Kadam took his time but was dismissed on 25 off 22.

There was no looking for Manish after his arrival at the crease. His innings included a total of nine fours and seven sixes. Manish batted with a strike-rate of 241.30.

This was his second century in T20 cricket. He was the first Indian cricketer to hit a century in IPL in 2009 while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore.

Manish’s form ahead of IPL 2019 will surely be news to cheer or Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was bought by the franchise for a huge amount fo Rs 11 Crore but he failed and could just score 284 runs in 13 matches before being dropped.

He was expected to be released by the franchise but the owners showed faith in him, giving Manish another chance with the franchise.

Today’s century was Manish’s second fifty-plus score in the ongoing tournament. He had played an innings of 74 against Assam in Karnataka’s first match.

With his performances in the tournament, Manish would also look to send a reminder to the selectors ahead of World Cup.

A regular part of the team since 2016, he was dropped from the national squad from the ODI squad for the Australia series and later lost his place in the team for the New Zealand tour.

He later returned to domestic cricket and has been leading Karnataka since his return. Manish Pandey’s last international appearance came in the third T20I of the series against Windies last year. His previous ODI appearance came in Asia Cup against Afghanistan.