Manish Pandey’s jaw-dropping century wasn’t enough for Belagavi Panthers to clinch a win in the 11th match of Karnataka Premier League (KPL) 2019 against Hubli Tigers at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Wednesday (August 21).

Sent into bat first, Panthers rode on Pandey’s unbeaten 102 off 50 balls (7 fours and 7 sixes) to post a mammoth 180/7 on the board.

In reply, Tigers overhauled the target in 19.5 overs on the back of Mohammed Taha’s 55-ball 75 and Praveen Dubey’s unbeaten 33 off 18 deliveries.

Despite his team’s defeat, Pandey was adjudged Player-of-the-Match for his valiant century. Speaking at the presentation ceremony, the India star admitted being under pressure because of the expectations from him, while he lauded the opposition batsmen for pulling off a magnificent chase.   

“When I came in, I was under pressure as there were expectations on me. Good to get a hundred. Was a lucky day for me. Whenever they missed, I cashed in. Great effort from the Tigers. They played really well. We fought really hard. Praveen Dubey played really well and was well backed by Taha,” Manish Pandey said.

“Hopefully, we will come up well in the next few games. The tournament is growing. Great effort from KSCA to conduct this. Hoping this continues for a long time,” he added.

Hubli Tigers captain Vinay Kumar was relieved as well as ecstatic to see his batsmen lift their game in a crucial chase.

“Big relief for me. The kind of characters boys showed made me really happy. Everyone knows Pandey's calibre. if you drop his catches, he will make you pay. Superb innings from him. After losing two games, Taha and Praveen Dubey being the backbone of our team stood up. Dubey everyone knows can hurt the opposition. Good to have both of them in the team,” Vinay said.

(Quotes from Cricbuzz)