Anshuman Pandey

For other people named Anshuman, see Anshuman.

Anshuman Vachaspati Pandey (born 26 September 1975) is a former Indian cricketer who played for Madhya Pradesh in 1996 and 1997. He is best known for accomplishing the rare feat of scoring a double century on his first-class debut.

Anshuman Pandey

Personal information
Full name	Anshuman Vachaspati Pandey
Born	(1975-09-26) 26 September 1975 (age 49) Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm off spin
Role	Opening batsman
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1996–1997	Madhya Pradesh
Career statistics
Competition FC LA Matches 6 2 Runs scored 304 58 Batting average 30.40 29.00 100s/50s 1/0 0/0 Top score 209* 46 Catches/stumpings 1/– 0/–
Source: CricketArchive, 14 August 2015

Pandey was born in Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh,^[1] and made his state under-19 debut during the 1991–92 season, aged 16.^[2] A right-handed opening batsman, he was selected to make his senior debut for Madhya Pradesh in January 1996, against Uttar Pradesh during the 1995–96 Ranji Trophy season.^[3] On debut, Pandey opened the batting with Jai Yadav, and finished with 209 not out from a team total of 536/7 declared, with his innings lasting 545 balls and taking 676 minutes (over 11 hours) to complete.^[4] He and his captain, Chandrakant Pandit (who scored 202), put on 328 runs for the third wicket, which as of August 2015^[update] is the highest partnership for Madhya Pradesh against Uttar Pradesh.^[5] Pandey became the third Indian (after Gundappa Viswanath and Amol Muzumdar) and tenth player overall to score a double century on his first-class debut, a feat which has since been accomplished by four more players (including two Indians).^[6]

Despite his debut performance, Pandey would go on to play only five more first-class matches, two more during the 1995–96 season and then three the following season.^[3] In the ten innings after his debut, he recorded only 95 runs at an average of 9.50,^[1] with a best of 24 against Railways.^[7] Pandey did also play twice in the Ranji one-day competition, scoring 46 against Railways in October 1996,^[8] but he played no further matches for Madhya Pradesh after the 1996–97 season, finishing with an overall first-class batting average of 30.40.^[1] Of the fourteen players to score a double century on their first-class debut, only Norman Callaway (one match) and Arthur Maynard (two matches) had shorter careers.^[6]