Pandey makes it count

Responds to questions over his form,temperament with unbeaten 101 against Mumbai

It hasnt been easy being Manish Pandey. Blessed with rare cricketing talent,the 22-year old lad was earmarked for greatness even before he became an adult. Pandey partly fulfilled that promise by cementing his place in the Karnataka playing XI fours years ago,smashing the first century by an Indian in the IPL and being part of the victorious Under-19 World Cup squad. Yet,these were just flashes of brilliance,and flashes werent good enough for a boy of his quality.

These days,we see players scoring triple centuries in the Ranji Trophy. So I know that my 30s and 40s wont take me anywhere, Pandey said at the CCI,on the eve of his teams encounter with Mumbai. I need to start scoring centuries,and I need to make my 100s into big hundreds. Thats when I know that I have made it count. Pandey had set his benchmark high,and on Thursday,he took his first step to achieving it.

With a 114-ball 101,Pandey sailed past his early disappointments in the season with a composed ton. Although he had to retire hurt to the safety of the dressing room after experiencing severe cramps,the Karnataka batsman ensured that his fluent knock eased some of the pressure that had been mounting up on him after many of his contemporaries had notched big hits in the first two games of the 2011-12 Ranji season. While openers KB Pawan and Robin Uthappa made a double century and a century in the first and second games respectively,Pandey had scored 58 and 4. On Thursday,he finally had his share of the limelight.

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Pandey falls into that category of players who almost always step it up against the domestic giants. If his innings of 144 in Mysore nearly helped beat Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy final two seasons ago,then his outing against the 39-time champions in their backyard today gave Karnataka the early advantage in this Group A fixture.

It was an innings of command and caution,both present in equal measures. He was forceful against Iqbal Abdulla,charging out to slam two fours off his left-arm spin,while he tackled Ramesh Powars guile and flight with breezy footwork and a powerful drive. Although Ajit Agarkar did well to push Pandey on to the backfoot with several short balls,Pandey played the veteran pacer with care,ensuring that he didnt throw his effort away by trying to hit himself out of trouble. After Karnataka chose to bat on a run-hungry wicket,it was just the kind of innings the visitors would have been hoping for.

The day didnt start all that well for Vinay Kumars boys. KB Pawan,the double centurion from the opening game of this season,was out for a 24-ball duck. Unable to open his account for half an hour,the wicketkeeper-batsman was put out of his misery when Dhawal Kulkarni induced an edge from his blade into Rohit Sharmas grasp at second slip.

While Uthappa looked en route to a second consecutive century (he notched one against the Railways in their previous game),Mumbai wicketkeeper Omkar Guravs stunning take behind the stumps did a flamboyant innings in. In a little more than an hour in the middle,Uthappa had blazed on to 49 — 40 of those runs coming in 10 strokes. Uthappas wicket brought Pandey into the middle,and along with Ganesh Satish,the pair bailed Karnataka out of trouble with a 183-run stand for the third wicket.

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Satish was the perfect foil to Pandey,patiently wearing down the opposition during his 181-ball 83,before being dismissed by Ankeet Chavan. Pandey,however,can and will resume his innings on Friday. The hundred has been scored,but in his own words,he is yet to make it count.

Brief Scores: Karnataka 316 for 5 (R Uthappa 49,G Satish 83,M Pandey 101 retired hurt,A Verma batting 44,Vinay Kumar batting 21; I Abdulla 2 for 70) v Mumbai