Manish Pandey had been waiting for an opportunity to have a say for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2024 and finally got his chance on Friday.
A top-order collapse after KKR had been asked to bat meant he went out as an impact player and scored a 31-ball 42 - it might not mean much in an IPL as high-scoring as this one, but played a huge role on the night, as KKR beat Mumbai Indians (MI) by 24 runs at the Wankhede.
Pandey walked out at No. 7 with KKR tottering at 57 for 5 and his 83-run stand with Venkatesh Iyer, who top-scored with a 52-ball 70, took KKR to 169 before they bowled MI out for 145.
"Certainly this impact-player rule it has specifically helped us in this game, and Manish, he's been eyeing for an opportunity right from game one but today he got one and he capitalised on it," KKR captain Shreyas Iyer said on the official broadcast after the game.
"It was fantastic to see him go out there and basically build on the partnership with Venky, who has been phenomenal on this wicket and, yeah, we got to a commendable total. All I had to say to the boys [was] that if we have got here, we can defend it with our bowling lineup and that's what we did."
Venkatesh, the Player of the Match, said that it was important for him and Pandey to rebuild, even if the scoring rate wasn't much, to save the likes of Andre Russell for the death.
"This is the fourth or fifth time where Manish has padded up, but this time he eventually got to bat," Venkatesh said. "Yeah, that's the plan obviously. With the impact-player rule, if you see a collapse, you can get a batter in, and he can add to the score."
Asked if giving up the impact-player option within the first quarter of the game was wise, Venkatesh said, "It was very important at that time. With Russell and Ramandeep [Singh] coming in a situation where they don't play, it was better for someone like Manish to come in and accelerate. And he did well as well.
"Initially, I told him it will take time to adjust to the wicket. The ball was holding up, and it was a two-paced wicket. So I told him we have the cushion of time and he is an experienced candidate. He was the one guiding me throughout the innings, how to face the bowler, which bowler to attack, [in] which situation to be aggressive - that communication was very good."
It was Venkatesh's second half-century of IPL 2024, and his best score by far, leaving behind the 30-ball 50 he scored in KKR's win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) early in the tournament.
"I try to be a smarter cricketer," Venkatesh said about his approach to the innings. "Everyone has the skillset but if you are smart, you can make those decisions.
"It would be very easy for me to go after someone like Piyush Chawla or maybe fast bowlers, just hit them because Wankhede is known as a six-hitting ground. But the team needed me to be there till the end and I'm really happy for that."