After the recently-concluded season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, the action now shifts from white-ball to red-ball cricket. The knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy started on Monday, with eight teams locking horns for the semi-finals. Karnataka took on Uttar Pradesh, Bengal locked horns with Jharkhand, Mumbai is facing Uttarakhand, and Punjab played against Madhya Pradesh. Out-of-favour India batter Manish Pandey has shifted his complete focus on the match between Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.
Manis Pandey had a forgettable outing in the IPL 2022 as he only managed to score 88 runs from six matches and also lost his spot from the playing XI. However, on Monday, Pandey led his side from the front, which also marked his 95th match in the first-class tournament.
Sharing his thoughts on his journey, during a chat with ESPNCricinfo, Manish Pandey said, “Personal performances do affect you sometimes, but whenever Karnataka doesn’t qualify for the knockouts or win, which we haven’t done for a while, that bothers me as a player. The goal as a group has been to develop a good bunch of players for years to come, that is something we are looking to do as a team.”
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He further explained, “There will be highs and lows, but I think I have done fairly well to be a part of this team [for a long time]. One thing is clear to all: no one is indispensable. This cap never came free to anyone. We have all worked hard for it. That hard work and [hunger] keeps me going even today. I will play my 95th game with the same intensity as my first.”
Meanwhile, Shivam Mavi and Saurabh Kumar shared seven wickets between them as Uttar Pradesh reduced hosts Karnataka to 213 for seven on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. Manish Pandey battled hard to face 70 balls, trying to bail Karnataka out of trouble but he was outdone by left-arm spinner Kumar. The right-hander was dismissed for 27.
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Shivam Mavi caused maximum damage and broke the back of Karnataka’s batting, grabbing a couple of big wickets of Mayank Agarwal (10) and Karun Nair (29) en route to his fine spell of 11-4-40-3. At close, Shreyas Gopal was unbeaten on 26 from 47 balls but found company from Vijaykumar Vyashak (12 not out).
