Manish Pandey brings up 3000-IPL runs with 54 against Rajasthan Royals

Sunrisers Hyderabad batsman Manish Pandey played a brisk 54 run knock against the Rajasthan Royals to propel his team to a total of 158 runs in 20 overs.

Manish Pandey became the 16th player, and 12th Indian to cross the 3000-run mark in the Indian Premier League. The former Kolkata Knight Riders mainstay had 2991 runs against his name as he walked into the 26th match of the IPL 2020 and with an open-faced face drive to long-on, the 31-year-old reached the landmark number.

Pandey’s 54 included two boundaries and three sixes, the half-century coming up in 40 deliveries. His stable innings in the middle coupled with Kane Williamson’s 22* in 12 balls helped Hyderabad cross the 150 run mark on a sluggish wicket.

In the 13 years of the Indian Premier League, Manish Pandey has been seen in four jerseys, his first stint as an opener with Royal Challengers Bangalore followed by Pune Warriors India, Kolkata Knight Riders and Sunrisers Hyderabad in the order. Pandey also stands as the first Indian batsman to score a century in the league, when he played an unbeaten 114 run knock off 73 balls against Deccan Chargers at Centurion in 2009.

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The Sunrisers Hyderabad player has taken 127 innings to reach the 3000 run mark, scoring one century and 17 half-centuries in the meantime. His IPL average of 29.7 comes at a strike rate of a little more than 121.

At Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2020, Pandey has been seen in a newer role, coming at No. 3 to anchor the innings. The 31-year-old has also played as an opener and middle-order batsman (Kolkata Knight Riders) before.