A maiden triple hundred under his belt for Bengal against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Group A clash, senior batsman Manoj Tiwary said while it is difficult to make an Indian comeback at this stage, nothing it impossible.
Tiwary, 34, cracked his maiden first class triple century to put Bengal in the driver’s seat. Tiwary, who has played 12 ODIs and 3 T20 Internationals, hit 30 fours and five sixes en route to his unbeaten 303 from 414 balls at a strike rate of 73.19. His marathon knock lasted 10 hours and 30 minutes.
Tiwary also became only the second batsman from Bengal to hit a triple ton — after Devang Gandhi’s 323 versus Assam at Guwahati in the 1998-99 season. His previous best was 267 as Bengal skipper against Madhya Pradesh in a drawn encounter in Kolkata in the 2011-12 season.
“Anything is possible in this world. Confidence is my strength whether I score a zero or a hundred. I have always believed in my abilities and hard work,” Tiwary told reporters after the day’s play when asked about his India comeback.
Tiwary last played in an ODI way back in 2015 in Zimbabwe.
“I would like to thank my personal coach Manabendra Ghosh. He has helped me get better. If you have that belief in your ability, confidence comes in. Looking forward you never know what’s going to happen. Right now, the way the Indian team is shaped up, it’s difficult but you never know,” said the former Bengal captain.
Tiwary’s epic knock came at a time when he remained unsold in the IPL auction last month and got embroiled in a controversy when he asked national selector Devang to leave the Bengal team dressing room for his “unauthorised” entry.
He was also removed from captaincy before the start of the season with the selectors going with Abhimanyu Easwaran.
“Difficult to digest the fact that I will not be playing the IPL again this season but that’s the reality,” he lamented.
“The management looks at something different in their eyes I might not provide that. It feels bad when you see so many youngsters and players are playing and I sit back and watch the games, at times we see those kind of shots I could have also played.”
Tiwary said he wanted to “show” his detractors his worth after getting to 300 by gliding part-timer Buddhi Rahul through the covers boundary but did not feel anything at that time.
“To be honest, I was not sure how to express my feeling, it was pretty odd for me. when I was not scoring big runs I had a plan to celebrate in a way when I scored a hundred but I don’t know it did not come out.”
Tiwary rated his only hundred for India as the most special, but added that this innings will be right after that.
“The hundred against India will always be on top. Then I guess this 303, this is my maiden triple ton and it came when Bengal were in a spot of bother.”
Bengal coach Arun Lal also praised Tiwary, saying he should have played for India more.
“He is a magnificent player. I am amazed he hasn’t done this more often. He should have played more for India, undoubtedly. He is a very strong guy, fit and strong,” Lal said.