Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri has announced an award of Rs. one lakh for cricketer Manish Pandey, first Indian batsman to hit a century in Indian Premier League, for his excellent performance.
Through his performance, Pandey has not only made us proud but also played a vital role
in helping his team of Royal Challengers Bangalore to be runner-up of IPL championship, said Khanduri.
Giving best wishes to Pandey, Khanduri also congratulated him for becoming first Indian batsman to hit a century in the second season of IPL.
Pandey was sent by his skipper Anil Kumble as opener in the last league match of IPL against Deccan Chargers and he scored 114 not out in that match. In the semifinal also, Pandey scored 48 runs. In both the matches, Pandey was chosen as Man of the Match.
19-year-old Pandey originally belongs to Bageshwar district of Uttarakhand where he played most of his early cricket. Pandey, son of an army man, later shifted his base to Bangalore at the age of 15 to get more exposure and better opportunities in cricket.
His grandfather Dharmanand Pandey, who still resides in Bageshwar, said that his style of playing is similar to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and expressed hope that he would also lead team India some day like Dhoni.