Tiwary’s century fails to check Central’s progress

Manoj Tiwary gave East Zone a glimmer of hope, but the Bengal batsman’s flamboyant century was not enough to prevent Central Zone from entering the semifinal of the Duleep Trophy.

Manoj Tiwary gave East Zone a glimmer of hope, but the Bengal batsman’s flamboyant century was not enough to prevent Central Zone from entering the semifinal of the Duleep Trophy.

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After being at receiving end of an onslaught from Mohammad Kaif and Co for almost three days, the only way East Zone could challenge Central Zone, who had scored 480 in their first innings, was through attack. That they did, but in the process, lost wickets at regular intervals.

East Zone started on a steady note with Arindam Das providing the much-needed stability at the top, but the opener’s dismissal for a well-compiled half-century at a crucial juncture pushed the team onto the backfoot.

Tiwary, however, had other plans. Needing to score at 3.8 runs per over to better Central Zone’s scoring rate, the
right-hander, batting at No. 5, not only found the gaps with alarming regularity, but also ran the singles and twos throughout the innings.

But while Tiwary took to the opposition bowlers with gay abandon, East Zone kept losing wickets at the other end. He was unbeaten on 102 (7x4, 3x6) when stumps were drawn on the final day of the quarterfinal match.

Though the proceedings stated half an hour after lunch due to bad light, Tiwary’s ability to produce some
sweetly-timed shots kept the interest alive.

That East Zone scored at a point less than the required rate paved the way for Central Zone’s qualification.