Manish Pandey turns 31: When batsman become first Indian to score IPL ton; watch video

The Indian Premier League gave a platform for young and upcoming talents to showcase their skills on a grand stage and go toe-to-toe with the international stalwarts. Karnataka-born cricketer Manish Pandey grabbed this opportunity with both hands when he was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore unit for the IPL 2009. Much to a lot of people's surprise, a young 19-year-old Manish Pandey became the first Indian player to smash a century in the IPL on May 21, 2009. The Pandey IPL ton will always remain special in IPL history

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Pandey IPL ton: Fan remembers milestone on 31st Manish Pandey birthday

Manish Pandey opened the innings with Jacques Kallis as the Bangalore-based franchise took on the Deccan Chargers. Pandey played an absolute blinder as he remained unbeaten on 114. Manish Pandey's innings could have been drastically cut short if he was not given a lifeline by RP Singh, who put down the batsman's catch at third man when he was batting at 2.

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It was only the second edition of the league where an uncapped youngster took seasoned bowlers with international experiences to cleaners, which proved to be a great advertisement for the cash-rich league. The scintillating innings was even more impressive as it came in South Africa, as the season was shifted due to the General Elections in India. A cricket fan took to Twitter to post highlights of the innings on the 31st Manish Pandey birthday -

Manish Pandey in the IPL 2020

Pandey, who turned 31 on Thursday, is set to represent SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2020. As evidenced from the recently-announced SRH schedule, the SRH team will take on the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their opening match of the tournament on September 21. However, the franchise is set to miss the services of three of their cricketers, including SRH team captain David Warner in the opening week of the tournament. David Warner, along with Mitchell Marsh, is selected in Australia’s squad for September’s limited-overs series against England.

Additionally, SRH opening batsman Jonny Bairstow has been selected to play England’s T20I as well as ODIs in their Australian challenge at home. The three players are expected to make a comeback into the SRH squad later in September. Veteran cricketer Kane Williamson is likely to lead the SRH team in Warner’s absence.

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Pandey IPL ton: SRH squad for the IPL 2020

David Warner (C), Abhishek Sharma, Basil Thampi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Billy Stanlake, Jonny Bairstow, Kane Williamson, Manish Pandey, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Sandeep Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Shreevats Goswami, Siddarth Kaul, Khaleel Ahmed, Thangarasu Natarajan, Vijay Shankar, Wriddhiman Saha, Virat Singh, Priyam Garg, Mitchell Marsh, Bavanaka Sandeep, Fabian Allen, Abdul Samad and Sanjay Yadav.

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Image Source: Manish Pandey Instagram