It is 12:30PM Sydney time and the team is on its way to the Sydney Cricket Ground. Manish Pandey occupies a window seat in the bus and has some music playing in his ear. Its drizzling on the way, Pandey has his eyes fixed outside and is humming a tune. It is meant to be his last game before he takes the flight back home and as any other youngster representing the country, Pandey was itching to get a game and end the series on a high. Eight hours and a maiden ODI ton later, Pandey said, he saw himself kissing the tricolour on his helmet and raising his bat to the gallery. Those pictures that had played like a showreel in his head had been brought into reality as Pandey played one of the most defining innings of the series. Calm and sensible mixed with a sense of timed aggression - Manish Pandey showed his mettle in a thrilling run-chase in front of a thirty four thousand strong SCG. “It is one of the most thrilling games I have been a part of,” Manish told BCCI.TV after the game. “Being there on the field, playing those balls and seeing the team through was special and I would rank this knock among the top three moments of my career. There were some nerve breaking moments at times but I think I had a good partnership with all the batsmen who were coming in to bat. I feel it came off my way.” Manish walked in to bat at a time when India had lost Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli in quick succession. India were in a precarious position still needing 197 at a rate of close to 7 per over. Pandey though didn’t get overawed by the scenario. He took his time, got into the groove and after a few overs began to open up. “I always do that, I get my eye in first especially in wickets like these where it’s a bit challenging early on in the innings. You have to take a few deliveries to get set and then play your game. After the fourth or the fifth ball I was all ready for singles and I thought I made the necessary changes in my style of play. It was all good after that. The pitch was good and it helped my batting style.” One highlight of Manish’s innings was his ability to nudge the ball into the wide gaps and push for a lot of singles and doubles. After one attacking stroke, he would play inside out, place balls according to the field and do a lot of running - a feature that was a well thought out plan by him and captain MS Dhoni. “It is a big ground and you have to look for a lot of singles and doubles. You have to run hard and get the scoreboard ticking. It is very difficult to hit boundaries on every ball. This is one of the reasons why me and Dhoni had a partnership going. We kept telling each other to keep the singles and doubles going.” Dhoni later in the press conference complimented Pandey’s ability to understand the nature of the chase and was impressed by the youngster’s batting capabilities under pressure. “I felt he placed his innings very well,” Dhoni said. “He calculated the run chase and this innings will really help him. It's good to get somebody who scored a hundred, especially at that batting position. He batted really well and I hope he continues the same way. He has a good future.” Dhoni and Pandey put up a 94-run partnership for the 4th wicket and they looked like hard earned runs. There was a lot of running, some close calls but the endeavour was always to never panic and take the game right till the end, explained Pandey. “From ball one, MS Dhoni kept telling me to take the game till the end and that is where everything will happen. He did exactly that and took the game till the last over. There were a couple of lengths missed by the bowlers and we capitalized on that. I just kept on telling Mahi bhai during the death overs that ‘Captain, it’s all about that one six and we will be through. We waited till the last over and Dhoni hit that crucial six off the first ball of the last over which was definitely the turning point of the game. It became easy for me to finish the game after that.” Even after Dhoni’s departure following the six, Pandey hardly panicked. He carved a wide yorker to the third man boundary to bring up his maiden ODI ton in style. It was a ton to savour for young Pandey. “Today morning I got a feeling that I would get a game and I had some pictures in my head. I saw myself kissing the helmet and raising that bat up for the hundred. This knock is really special for me and it was a great moment for me playing just my fourth ODI. I take a lot of confidence from this knock and the series. I believe I did not get many chances to bat in the previous matches but today I made the most of it. I love the pitches here and there is good bounce which suits my batting style. I think the number four batting positions suits me and therein lies my forte. A hundred in Australia will always give you good feelings about yourself and your batting insights. I will take that forward and be a lot more confident ahead.”