Chennai: Terrific innings by Manoj Tiwary did not only put India A into the driver’s seat but must also have caught the attention of the selectors who are looking for consistent performers for the opening as well as the slots left vacant by the retirement of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid. And with Tiwary giving a hint to even open the innings, his consistent performance in all formats of the game would definitely weigh in his favour and if he continues with his form, for sure it won’t go unnoticed.
"I'm ready to bat anywhere my team wants to. I don't mind opening the batting in Tests either. Playing against the new ball will be an issue, but I'll work that out," a confident Tiwary said after scoring a brilliant 129 against the Australians on Sunday.
He has been in and out from the side from quite a sometime now but his innings against Australia has surely caught the attention of the selectors. He is not only a good batsman but also a brilliant fielder who has bit of experience at playing International cricket.
Coincidently, Tiwary's only international century has come batting as an opener in an ODI against West Indies in Chennai.
He has been a consistent run-getter for Bengal in the Ranji season and ex-captain Sourav Ganguly has also said about that many times. “Tiwary can be the one who can make it big if given a chance on regular basis. He is not just talented, but he has that hunger of doing well which keeps motivating him and makes him a better cricketer,” Ganguly had said.
He was bit disappointed for not making it into the Test squad despite the good run in Ranji. He had said, "It does feel bad at times because I have scored runs in every format, but that's how it is. I hope the people concerned will take note and I will get my chance.”
Coming to the match, there were a couple of occasions when Tiwary was facing the heat of short balls bowled by Peter Siddle. When asked about that he reacted by saying, "Look at the runs on the board. I know how to score runs and how to build an innings.”
When he was asked about batting performance of Aussies, he added, "I think Australian didn’t batted pretty well and if they continue to do so then they are hardly going to get any chance against Indian Spinners.”