IPL 2020: 3 factors that could help SRH win their second title this year

#2 The middle-order star in Manish Pandey

Manish Pandey

30-year old Manish Pandey has featured in each and every edition of the IPL, and has seen a number of ups and downs over the years. He was the man of the match with 94 from 50 balls as Kolkata Knight Riders won the title in 2014. This was after he had managed only 143 and 136 in the previous two editions in 10 and seven matches respectively.

At his prime, Pandey can dismantle the best of attacks with his attractive and aggressive srokeplay. Now with a few impressive international knocks under his belt, the Karnataka batsman will be all the more confident this time round. He scored a key half-century in the Wellington T20I against New Zealand after India had lost their top and middle order cheaply. It made a big difference in the end.

Pandey can bring his expertise into play for SRH, and bail them out of tense situations. In an IPL career spanning 130 games, Pandey has 2,843 runs to his name at an average of 29.30 and a strike rate of 120.82 with one hundred and 15 fifties.

A strong performance will not only boost SRH’s chances, but will also enhance Pandey’s case at the World T20 in Australia later in the year.