Did experience still hold any meaning in the IPL world when Manish Pandey got the better of experienced Mumbai Indians in a match prevailing match to hand Kolkata Knight Riders a decisive victory? Amidst a tournament that is all about strike rates, youngsters and explosive hitting, Pandey came across as Peter Thomas with a quiet performance and helped KKR keep in the playoffs.
Pandey’s name had not been found for the past few seasons in the last two IPL seasons. The 36-year-old had been a speck in the distance for a while after his days of being a fan favourite for the KKR batting line-up in the 2014 IPL season, when he was known as the first Indian to reach a century in the IPL and helped KKR secure their title. He has also had lengthy spells in the middle comprising of waiting in the background on a game-by-game basis for younger and more aggressive batters to bat.
But, when needed the least, cricket has a way to create opportunities. KKR were coming off a flop and injured players ruffled the batting order, leaving Pandey as the only option on Wednesday night for him to find a window for an opportunity. He grabbed it with both hands.
The first is that KKR were already shying away after progressive Finn Allen dropped out of the hunt early. Then there was another setback with Angkrish Raghuvanshi being ruled out for the same reason. Suddenly, Pandey has moved to the crease at #3 in a high-pressure situation as Mumbai Indians’ bowling attack, spearheaded by Jasprit Bumrah, faced the batters.
KKR was sitting at 54 FOR 3. Mumbai Indians were in possession now and the Eden Gardens fans felt threatened. But Pandey introduced a sense of serenity into the middle. He didn’t take risks and try to get a quick boundary, instead prioritising the timing, placement of runs, and intelligent passing between the boundary and halfway and the stumps. His 45 non-scattered off 33 deliveries might not have looked like a boom years record but turned out to be the night’s telling innings.
The most jaw dropping moment was when Pandey took a natural effort down Bumrah’s quiet wicket. It instantly brought to mind his glory days with KKR. By the way, Pandey has featured a very positive IPL partnership with Bumrah, to his credit.It is interesting to note that this was not the first time that Pandey has touched the ball with Bumrah in the IPL, and it was a very successful one. He was steady against the pace, intelligent against the spin and had a good feel for the situation in the match.
Pandey’s efforts were however not restricted to just the batting though. His influence on the game, in the form of fantastic fielding, had led up to the innings. The old timer was precise with his catching, helped save many runs at the boundary and contributed with his energy to the Mumbai attack.
In a modern-day of T20 cricket, where experts tend to dominate the debate, Pandey reminded the supporters of the value of all-round performance. Playing ability on the field coupled with his level of maturity in the batter’s box brought a much sought-after mix of abilities to the plate that younger players still hope to achieve.
But after the match, Pandey said it was an emotional game for him as it was his first decent bowling opportunity of the campaign. So far, he has been wearing a helmet in the dugout the last four times without hitting a ball. But he didn’t get frustrated, he was focused on being ready.
It’s always been kind and nice of KKR towards me,” Pandey added in his acceptance speech for the Player of the Match award. “So I wanted to stay there, I wanted to make our team win and that’s what we did.
Assistant coach Shane Watson had high praise for Pandey’s attitude and commitment behind the scenes, which were exemplified by that professionalism. Watson said the veteran is playing remarkably well in the tournaments’ training and would not be surprised if he’s become a better player because of that before the next World Cup convenes.The veteran was having a stellar training session throughout the tournaments despite his cramped opportunities in matches, said Watson, who was not surprised if he’s improved because of it before the next World Cup rolls around.
The timing of Pandey’s 6 was an added emotional touch as well. When he finally got to the pavilion, the date was May 21 the day of his own IPL century from 2009 that made his international debut as a future star of India.
To many fans, it was more than simply runs on a scoreboard. It was a reminder of a player who had played a significant role in building up the IPL in the initial days. Although the stars of the recent era are now in the headlines, debutants such as Pandey have been successful due to their consistency, commitment and spectacular performances in the nearly 20 years they have been involved in the tournament.
Most importantly, KKR’s triumph over Mumbai Indians just prolonged their playoff run, but it also did something for the sensibility around the sport: It made it easy for people to reminisce about how classy these guys were. After leaving the headlines of last season, Manish Pandey is yet to return in the red and yellow garb and looked the other way this time, but on the big screen, in high pressure atmosphere of Kolkata, he proved himself to be quite a character.
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