‘No one is indispensable. This cap never came free to anyone’: Out-of-favour India star targets Ranji Trophy win
Karnataka will be playing against Uttar Pradesh, Bengal will take on Jharkhand, Mumbai are up against Uttarakhand, and Punjab will play Madhya Pradesh.
The 15th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is done and the action now shifts from white-ball to red-ball cricket. The knockout stage of India's premier domestic competition Ranji Trophy stared from Monday, with eight teams locking horns for the final four berth.
Karnataka took on Uttar Pradesh, Bengal faced Jharkhand, Mumbai were up against Uttarakhand, and Punjab played Madhya Pradesh.
Out-of-favour India batter Manish Pandey was in focus in the match between Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Pandey had a quiet IPL 2022 as he could only accumulate 88 runs from six matches and also lost his spot from the playing XI.
However, on Monday the 32-year-old took the field to lead his side from the front, which also marked his 95th match in the first-class tournament.
Sharing his thoughts on his journey, Pandey said he is determined to deliver his best and rated his personal performance over the years as “fairly well”.
“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. 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,” the Karnataka skipper was quoted as saying in a report on ESPNCricinfo.
Meanwhile, Shivam Mavi and Saurabh Kumar shared seven wickets between them as Uttar Pradesh reduced hosts Karnataka to 213 for seven on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal.
Manish Pandey battled hard for 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.
Mavi caused maximum damage and broke the back of Karnataka's batting, grabbing the two 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).
-with PTI inputs
