3 times Manish Pandey's fielding brilliance left fans stunned

Manish Pandey led the Hubli Tigers to the title in the recently concluded Maharaja T20 Trophy. They defeated the Mysore Warriors by just eight runs in the final at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on August 29.

Manish Pandey has emerged as one of the greatest fielders in the history of Indian cricket. While the 33-year-old failed to establish himself as a middle-order batter in the Indian setup, he continues to impress fans with his elite fielding skills.

In this piece, we shall talk about three instances when the Karnataka cricketer has made some terrific efforts in the field.

#1 Maharaja Trophy, 2023

Mysore Warriors were set a target of 204, as Taha Mohammed (72 off 40 balls) and Manish Pandey (50* off 23 balls) scored quick-fire half-centuries to register an above-par first innings total.

In response, the Warriors batted brilliantly. The top-order of SU Karthik, Ravikumar Samarth and Karun Nair all chipped in with valuable contributions. It came down to a close encounter, as the Warriors required 11 runs off the last four deliveries.

Jagadeeshan Suchith hit the ball long on off Manvanth Kumar's bowling. It was all set to go for a boundary. However, Pandey's leap meant that he pushed the ball back into the play with both his hands. He ended up saving five runs in this process.

This meant that Suchith was off the strike. Monish Reddy failed to get a boundary off the next delivery, bringing the equation down to nine off two balls. Suchith was then dismissed in attempting to get a much-needed boundary.

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#2 India v Australia, 2020

India were up against Australia in the 2nd match of the three-match series at Rajkot in January 2020. It was a must-win encounter for the Men in Blue, who had lost the first ODI by 10 wickets. They lost the toss and were put in to bat first.

India were really impressive with the bat, as all of the top three stepped up with notable contributions. Rohit scored 42 off 44 balls, Dhawan scored 96 off 90 balls and Kohli scored 78 off 76 balls. KL Rahul also stepped up in the middle-order role, scoring a 52-ball 80. They posted a solid first-innings total of 340/6.

In response, the onus was on the Australian openers to put the pressure back on the hosts. However, Mohammed Shami took the early wicket of Warner because of a splendid one-handed catch from Manish Pandey at point. He timed his leap perfectly, catching the ball with his right hand. India won the match by 36 runs.

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#3 India vs West Indies, 2019

India batted in the first innings of the second T20I against the West Indies in August 2019. They scored 167/5, as Rohit Sharma scored a cautious 67 off 51 deliveries. Shikhar Dhawan (23 off 16) and Krunal Pandya also played vital cameos.

West Indies lost two early wickets. Rovman Powell played a brilliant innings of 54 off just 34 balls. However, Nicholas Pooran failed to get going. He scored a scratchy 19 off 34 balls, which meant that the West Indies were never really in the chase.

Manish Pandey took a brilliant catch at the boundary off Krunal Pandya's bowling as Pooran heaved the ball towards long-on. He stayed just inside the rope but as he lost his balance, he threw the ball up in the air and stepped back in to take the catch successfully. India won the match by 22 runs (DLS method).