The veteran Manoj Tiwary continued his stellar performance with the batter as he smashed his second successive century on Thursday. The 36-year-old, who is also the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports in West Bengal, played a knock of 102 off 211 for Bengal in the semi-final match against Madhya Pradesh on Day 3 at the KSCA Cricket Ground, Alur.
Manoj Tiwary surpassed the 100-run mark with a single in the mid-wicket region during the first session on Day 3. He raised his bat in delight and acknowledged the applause from the dressing room. But there was more to the celebration. The veteran cricketers also held out a handwritten note with a heartwarming message for his wife and children.
Manoj Tiwari had a special hand-written message for his family after scoring his 29th first-class hundred 👨👩👧👦
📸: BCCI Domestic #ranjitrophy #bcci #cricketindia #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/Upj2x8yGyd
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) June 16, 2022
Here is the video of his knock:
Notably, Manoj Tiwary had played a match-winning knock of 136 runs in the previous game against Jharkhand. His century headlined an inconsequential day five as Bengal advanced to the semi-finals of the Ranji Trophy on the basis of their massive first-innings lead. Tiwary was the first one to score a Ranji century while being a sitting minister in a state government. He had also played a knock of 73 in Bengal’s first essay.
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Talking about the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh, Manoj Tiwary was eventually dismissed on 102 when he edged a tossed-up delivery from Saransh Jain to fielder Rajat Patidar in the slip cordon. Bengal was reeling at 54 for five at one point but put up 273, thanks to Tiwary’s innings and Shahbaz Ahmed’s 116.
The pair made a partnership of 183 runs for the sixth wicket to bail the team out of a precarious situation. For Madhya Pradesh, Kumar Kartikeya, Saransh Jain, and Puneet Datey scalped three wickets apiece, while Gaurav Yadav added one to his name.
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Earlier, wicketkeeper-batter Himanshu Mantri helped Madhya Pradesh to reach a target of 341 runs as he scored 165. The 28-year-old left-handed opener frustrated the opposition bowlers after his team was tottering at 97 for four. Mantri teamed up with Akshat Raghuwanshi, who hit 63. The duo forged a crucial 123-run stand for the fifth wicket on a batting-friendly surface.
