JOHANNESBURG, May 24: After his century against the Deccan Chargers at the Centurion on Thursday, Manish Pandey walked into the media conference hall with an infectious smile, and understandably so. He shook hands with every reporter whether he knew them or not. With coach Ray Jennings in tow, Pandey looked the ever obedient student.

The 19-year-old added another feather to his cap on Saturday against the Chennai Super Kings and went through the same routine with the reporters. Cricket has a long history of losing talented players who couldn’t handle fame. If Pandey can stay the same and not lose the bigger picture, Indian cricket could have a batsman who can serve it for long.

It was easy to paste a ‘flash in the pan’ tag to his hundred but Pandey followed up with a crucial 48 in the semi-final to launch the chase against Chennai. It was a cultured innings under pressure. The youngster thought the 48 was a better effort than the century.

"I think the shots that I played initially were better. I found the gaps; there were a few flaws in the knock against the Chargers. I just tried to do rectify them in the semi-final," said Pandey who added that a talk he had with Jennings before the match helped.

Pandey looks a precious talent and coach Jennings has a plan in place to ensure his ward plays to potential. "Manish is giving me a hard time (laughs). Actually I want him to grow up in front of me. I want him to make a lot of mistakes. But as long as he is making the right decisions he should do well," explained Jennings. The task facing Pandey is not to stagnate.

Pandey’s selection was an inspired move. Royal Challengers Bangalore roped him in after Mumbai Indians failed to renew his contract on January 1, 2009.

"I think, it was in November when I called Manish. I said to him, whatever you are going to do, I am going to get you to come and play for the Challengers. I spoke to Dr Mallya and I waited for January 1. We got him to sign the contract on the next day. I have got one or two other guys, who are going to surprise the IPL in the next two years," said Jennings.

Pandey was the not the prodigious talent who was marked for the big stage from his school days. He has endured a lot. He shifted base to Bangalore when he was 15 and stayed on in the city even after his father was transferred to Rajasthan. He has not had the best of times in the Ranji Trophy, averaging only 27.57 in five games. For a brief while, Pandey thought his calling was the Army. "Well, not now," he said with a grin after the IPL semi-final.

Not blessed with a watertight technique, Pandey has a lot to work on in the coming months. The demands will grow as he plays better bowlers. His advantage is he has the flair and an uncomplicated technique. By what has transpired in the last few days, it looks like the Army’s loss is cricket’s gain