‘Upset’ Manish Pandey bats on in indoor nets even as Karnataka coast to victory outside

Manish Pandey batted right through, as Karnataka chased down Sikkim’s modest total of 117 with six wickets and 152 balls to spare at the Eden Gardens on Monday. The scoreboard, however, showed Pandey was out for 4 off 3 deliveries.

Smarting from a chastening defeat at the hands of Assam on Saturday, Karnataka were presented with the perfect opportunity to boost their net run-rate (NRR) and climb back to the top of Group B. That their two stars – Pandey and captain Mayank Agarwal – came out to open the batting, was like putting all the cards on the table.

It was the ideal platform for the duo as well to amass a big score and get their confidence going. Notably, both have been released by their respective IPL franchises. But the script would take a detour. Facing seamer Palzor Tamang, Manish Pandey hit a boundary and was then out caught off just the third ball. A gilt-edged chance to drive a statement home was spurned.

Sometimes, when you expect things to be a certain way, and then when they follow a different course, the hope morphs into obstinacy. The first stage of shock is always denial. After getting out, Pandey didn’t sit distraught in the dressing room. He went to the indoor practice arena of the venue and sweated it out until victory was sealed.

It is weird to imagine a player practise while his teammates are outside playing a game. But it also spoke volumes of how much Manish Pandey was hurting. Middling a few balls in the nets was perhaps the statutory mechanism to express his exasperation.

After an initial wobble of getting reduced to 37 for four, Agarwal (54* off 57) and Nikin Jose (46* off 52) shared an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 84 off 79 deliveries to take Karnataka home.

As the game finished, Pandey was seen walking back through the players’ entrance of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and into the changing room. He wasn’t done, though. And he wouldn’t be so, until having a hit on the same turf which he earlier had to leave. The 33-year-old went back out on the field, had a brief knocking session, before packing his kit for good.

Asked about the uncharacteristic post-dismissal ritual, the disappointment was writ large on his face. The former Karnataka skipper said their plan was to go all guns blazing from the outset which came to no avail.

“Yeah I was quite upset with the way I got out. Because our plan was to go hard initially and try and get those runs as soon as possible. But that didn’t happen. Maybe next game, I will bounce back and get some runs for my team,” Manish Pandey told Sportskeeda while exiting the stadium.

Recently during the T20 World Cup in Australia, Rishabh Pant was also caught in a similar act. The wicketkeeper-batter was dejected with having to warm the bench.

Just before the start of India’s second game against the Netherlands in Sydney, Pant was one of the few players batting in the nets. And he didn't stop even as the match got underway. Opener KL Rahul came back into the pavilion, but the 25-year-old was at it. When he finally came out, India were past the halfway stage of their innings.

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Manish Pandey profligate of not converting starts in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2022/23

In the six games so far, Manish Pandey has accumulated 205 runs at an average of 41 and a strike-rate of 98.55. He has remained not out just once, scoring a 64-ball 58 in a losing cause against Assam.

The five other dismissals have an eerie similarity to each other. With a set batter at the other end, opportunities were ripe for Pandey to play the anchor role – something he is adept at – and hand-hold his team over the line. But he has ended up throwing his wicket away after getting a start, every time.

Setting a target in the first two games, Manish Pandey played steadily and reached a launchpad to take it deep and rack up a big score. In the opener versus Meghalaya, he was dismissed for 36 off 43 in the 25th over, when the eventual total was 259 all out. Against Vidarbha, he raced to 44 off 39 before being taken out in the 22nd over. Karnataka piled up 314 for seven that day.

The southern giants chased in the next two matches. There wasn’t any change in fortunes for Manish Pandey, though. With a low total of 107 in front, he was struck leg-before by Jharkhand’s Shahbaz Nadeem for a 22-ball 15.

He would be in a similar situation two days later, with a shot at course-correction. Sharing a burgeoning third-wicket stand with Ravikumar Samarth, Pandey struck four sixes and two boundaries to make a mockery of Delhi’s total of 160. But with two runs shy of his maiden fifty of the season, he tried to slap a rising delivery from pacer Mayank Yadav through the off side and was played on.

Today’s wastefulness, though, would have topped all his agony. Sitting pretty at the top of the tree with 20 points, Karnataka will end the league stage against Rajasthan on Wednesday. Manish Pandey will be aiming to enter the knockouts on a high.

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