Ranji Trophy 2022 SF: Minister Manoj Tiwary scores second consecutive century
West Bengal’s Junior Sports Minister, Manoj Tiwary continued his stellar form in the Ranji Trophy 2022 – scoring his second consecutive century on Thursday (June 16). Tiwary reached his 29th first-class century in 205 balls with 12 fours on the third day of the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh at Alur. However, Tiwary was dismissed soon after completing his century, scoring a brilliant 102 off 211 balls, after which he was dismissed by Saransh Jain.
Tiwary’s dismissal ended the 183-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Shahbaz Ahmed. Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Shahbaz also scored 116 off 209, lifting Bengal to 54/5 in reply to MP’s 341. However, Bengal were still in danger of taking a first innings lead and were struggling at 268/. Back to the pavilion with 9 Shahbaz.
Meanwhile, former Bengal captain Tiwary displayed a note sharing his love for wife Sushmita and their family, which he showed for her. Tiwary had also scored 74 and 136 runs in two innings in the Ranji Trophy 2022 quarterfinals last week.
#ManojTiwary acknowledged the family’s support by holding a note after scoring a century in the #RanjiTrophy semifinal against MP. #BENvMP pic.twitter.com/clhWzoZkMC – Srinidhi (@srinidhi_pr) June 16, 2022
Earlier, Tiwary, a many-a-fight veteran in the company of utility man Shahbaz Ahmed, kept Bengal alive after reaching 197 for five after a top-order collapse against Madhya Pradesh on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final. ,
At stumps, Tiwary (84 batting, 182 balls) played his best innings of the season, while Shahbaz (72 batting, 149 balls) was equally flawed as they joined forces for 54 for five and an unbroken sixth wicket. Added 143 runs for , The century followed a 64-run seventh-wicket stand between Himanshu Mantri (165, 372 balls) and Puneet Date (33) to take Madhya Pradesh to a respectable first innings score of 341. Mukesh Kumar (4/66) was Bengal’s best bowler from afar.
On a track where Bengal left-arm spinner Shahbaz (3/86 in 20 overs) and his fellow spinner Pradipta Pramanik (1/50 in 14 overs) failed to trouble the minister, hitting 19 fours and a six, MP coach Chandrakant Pandit’s first use of the new ball to Mumbai Indians spinner Kumar Karthikeya (25-9-43-2) just before lunch proved to be a masterstroke.
In the post-lunch session, Anushtup Majumdar edged one at slips while the talented Abhishek Porel found the fielder at the square leg boundary off Puneet Date. In the middle, captain Abhimanyu Easwaran caught the data delivery from behind on the off-stump channel. At 54 for five, Shahbaz and Tiwary joined hands and the two hit some crisp drives as they ended the day with nine boundaries.
(with PTI input)
