| Anshuman Pandey | |
| Fullname: | Anshuman Vachaspati Pandey |
| Birth Date: | 26 September 1975 |
| Birth Place: | Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh, India |
| Batting: | Right-handed |
| Bowling: | Right-arm off spin |
| Role: | Opening batsman |
| Club1: | Madhya Pradesh |
| Year1: | 1996–1997 |
| Columns: | 2 |
| Column1: | FC |
| Matches1: | 6 |
| Runs1: | 304 |
| Bat Avg1: | 30.40 |
| 100S/50S1: | 1/0 |
| Top Score1: | 209* |
| Bowl Avg1: | n/a |
| Hidedeliveries: | true |
| Catches/Stumpings1: | 1/– |
| Column2: | LA |
| Matches2: | 2 |
| Runs2: | 58 |
| Bat Avg2: | 29.00 |
| 100S/50S2: | 0/0 |
| Top Score2: | 46 |
| Bowl Avg2: | n/a |
| Catches/Stumpings2: | 0/– |
| Date: | 14 August |
| Year: | 2015 |
| Source: | https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/18/18279/18279.html CricketArchive |
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.
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 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]