Ranji Trophy 2024: Manish Pandey slams third fifty-plus score
Manish Pandey played a match-winning knock on Day 4 for Karnataka against Railways in their 2024 Ranji Trophy encounter. He registered his 31st First-Class fifty and a third 50-plus score in the ongoing season. His 121-ball 67* guided Karnataka to a dramatic one-wicket victory over Railways as they chased down the target of 226 in the second innings. Here's more.
A well-paced knock from Pandey
Pandey missed out on the previous match against Goa due to injury. He scored 18 runs in the first innings and was desperate to leave a mark in the second outing. He came to the crease when Karnataka were 75/4. Pandey added 34 runs with Srinivas Sharath before stitching a 64-run stand with Vijaykumar Vyshak. He batted with the tail and guided Karnataka home.
Three 50-plus scores in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy
Pandey started his 2023-24 Ranji Trophy campaign with a 118-run knock against Punjab. He followed it up with an 88 against Gujarat. He has now slammed a match-winning 67* against Railways. Overall, he has amassed 301 runs from six innings at 75.25 in the 2023-24 Ranji Trophy. He has hammered two fifties and a ton. He is the third-highest run-getter for Karnataka.
Pandey had a decent 2022-23 Ranji Trophy
The experienced batter amassed 488 runs in nine matches in the 2022-23 Ranji Trophy. He slammed two centuries while scoring 208* against Goa. However, among Karnataka batters, Pandey was behind Mayank Agarwal (990), Ravikumar Samarth (662), and Nikin Jose (547) in terms of runs.
A look at his exceptional First-Class career
Playing his 110th FC match, the 34-year-old has amassed 7,657 runs at an average of 51.73. He has been a consistent performer for Karnataka since making his FC debut in 2008. Besides 24 centuries, Pandey has also clocked 31 fifties in this format. The veteran has represented India in 29 ODIs and 39 T20Is, scoring 566 and 709 runs respectively.
A look at the match summary
Railways could only manage 155 thanks to Pratham Singh's 56-run knock. Vasuki Koushik and Hardik Raj claimed three wickets each. In reply, Karnataka were also bundled out for 174 courtesy of Akash Pandey's 5/63. In the second innings, Mohammed Saif's 82 helped Railways post a total of 244. Chasing 226, Karnataka were in deep trouble, but Pandey used his experience to steer Karnataka home.
