Manish Pandey was the first Indian to score an IPL ton © AFP
Manish Pandey has made his One-Day International (ODI) debut today in the dead-rubber match against Zimbabwe at Harare. Pandey has been in the reckoning for the national squad for some time now, but while Indian cricket has groomed several cricketers at an early age, Manish is less than two months away from his 26th birthday. Live Cricket Scorecard: India vs Zimbabwe 2015, 3rd ODI at Harare
Here, then, are five things you need to know about Manish Pandey: Live Cricket Updates: India vs Zimbabwe, 3rd ODI at Harare
1. First Indian to score an IPL hundred: Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off in 2008, and the first edition witnessed six men slamming hundreds — all of whom were overseas cricketers. AB de Villiers became the seventh (in 2009), and it was only towards the end of the 2009 edition that Manish Pandey slammed a 73-ball 114* for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) against Deccan Chargers (DC). He also became the first RCB batsman to do the same.
2. Loyalty to Karnataka: Born in Nainital, Manish Pandey came to Bangalore with his family at 15. His father was with The Indian Army. When his father was transferred to Rajasthan a few years later, Manish decided to stay back to pursue a career in cricket.
3. Loyalty to cricket: In his early days Manish Pandey had made up his mind to join The Army if a career in cricket did not materialise. Following the historic IPL hundred, however, Manish could pursue a career in cricket. READ: Manish Pandey makes ODI debut as India bat first against Zimbabwe in 3rd ODI
4. Making it big in Ranji Trophy: Manish Pandey scored 882 runs in Ranji Trophy 2009-10 (just after his IPL hundred). He went past Robin Uthappa’s 854 in 2006-07. At that stage his tally was only behind Vijay Bharadwaj’s 1,280 in 1998-99 for any Karnataka batsman in a single edition of Ranji Trophy. Since then CM Gautam (943 runs in 2012-13), KL Rahul (1,033 in 2013-14), and Uthappa (again, 912 in 2014-15) have gone past him.
5. IPL final Man of the Match: Wriddhiman Saha slammed 115* in IPL 2014 final to take Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) to 199 for 4. Manish Pandey masterminded the chase with a 50-ball 94, guiding Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to a victory with 3 balls to spare.