No one has ever questioned Manoj Tiwary’s talent. But his detractors have often pointed that this gifted Bengal batsman tends to lose focus at big occasions. On Sunday, against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League, it was the 24-year old’s turn to silence his critics. He has been by far, the best batsman to have played for Bengal, after Sourav Ganguly.
The stage was set and Manoj ensured everyone took note of his batting prowess. A target of 136 is never a tall order in T20 cricket. Just when some people were questioning captain Sourav Ganguly’s decision of sending Manoj to open the batting again after his first-ball duck in the match against the Deccan Chargers, the Howrah lad came out all guns blazing.
A 29-ball 50 and a partnership of 101 for the first wicket with an equally impressive Brad Hodge (50 off 45 balls) ensured a seven-wicket victory for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the Royal Challengers. Despite a few hiccups in the late overs, KKR reached the target with four balls to spare.
The best thing about Manoj’s innings was the way he attacked the RCB bowlers in spite of pulling a hamstring. A six off Jacques Kallis over deep mid-wicket and couple of beautiful cover drives were enough to show the Doubting Thomases what he is capable of.
If that wasn’t enough, he lofted Dale Steyn over long off for another six. A square cut off Anil Kumble and then a slog sweep were examples of how one fights adversities. A delicate paddle sweep showed that Manoj is capable of playing at the highest level. By the time he was dismissed, his skipper’s decision had been vindicated.
There are days when matches are won by individual brilliance.
There are days when matches are won by teamwork. Again there are some days when the art of captaincy makes the difference. Sunday was such a day for Sourav. While Sourav got everything right, Kumble, once his most trusted lieutenant, got it wrong by messing up the batting order.
Any captain is hugely satisfied if the his men execute his plans to perfection. In the afternoon, Sourav’s bowlers did just that. Sourav wanted them to bowl to one line and they did it efficiently. After bailing out his team with the bat the other day, Angelo Mathews became the man with the golden arm.
His figures — 4-0-19-4 — would make any captain proud. Angelo did not do anything exceptional. He just bowled wicket to wicket, and it paid off. Rahul Dravid, who hit a majestic cover drive earlier, played one on to his stumps in a bid to up the ante while Manish Pandey, who struggled throughout, also played on.
Ishant Sharma was also brilliant in his first spell, pitching the ball up in his first three overs giving very little room to RCB batsmen. Murali Kartik complemented the pacers as he varied his line, mixing the flighted deliveries to good effect.
The result was a smart dismissal of Virat Kohli. He was induced to go for the lofted shot. Barring Jacques Kallis (65 ..), no one showed the stomach for fight.
KKR has made a good start to the IPL, (they had incidentally beaten RCB and the Chargers in their first two matches of the first edition) but the real test begins on Tuesday when they play Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings who have an all-win record against Sourav’s men.
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