Bengal batter stops just 92 runs short of 10,000 in FC cricket
KOLKATA: In cricket, as in life, one does not always end up getting everything he desires. Manoj Tiwary will remain as an example of this as the former Bengal skipper decided to retire from all forms of cricket on Thursday. The 37-year-old's announcement on social media thus brought the curtains down on the 19-year-long career of one of the most decorated cricketers from Bengal.
"Goodbye to the game of cricket," Tiwary wrote in his retirement note. "This game has given me everything, I mean every single thing which I had never dreamt of, starting from the times when my life was challenged by different forms of difficulties. Will ever be grateful to this game and to GOD, who has always been on my side throughout."
He had already started the second innings of his life when he won the Shibpur Assembly constituency seat on a Trinamool Congress ticket in 2021 and was appointed a Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports. But his foray into politics could not keep him away from the cricket field as he led Bengal to Ranji Trophy final last season too.
Coming from a very humble background, Tiwary made it to the top the hard way from age-group cricket to wearing the India jersey. Many feel things could have been different had the middle-order batter not suffered a shoulder injury during India's training session before the ODI series against Bangladesh in 2007.
But he did get another chance and made his international debut in an ODI in Brisbane in 2008, but was dismissed for a duck. After that he had to wait for three more years to get India call-up again. This time he hit his only century in international cricket, against the West Indies in Chennai. But as luck would have it, Tiwary was made to sit out for 14 successive matches following that century. He ended up playing 12 ODIs, scoring 287 runs, and three T20Is between 2008 and 2015.
He was also a member of the Kolkata Knight Riders' maiden IPL triumph in 2012 and struck the winning runs in the last over to seal a 191-run chase against the CSK. He also played for Delhi Daredevils (2008-09, 14-15), Kings XI Punjab (2018) and Rising Pune Supergiants (2017) in the IPL. In 96 matches, he scored 1,686 runs at a strike rate of over 117.
Tiwary will always remain a doyen of domestic cricket, finishing his first-class career just 92 runs short of the 10,000-run landmark (9908 runs) and averaged 48.56 with 29 centuries. But it would not be proper to limit Tiwary's feat to statistics only. He always played the game with his heart and led from the front. Tiwary had consistently kept pushing the bar higher and had imbibed a level of confidence among the boys that made Bengal a force to reckon with in the domestic circuit. No wonder the new crop of Bengal cricketers always vouch for Tiwary.
Interestingly he played his debut (2004) and last matches (2022) at his home ground, Eden Gardens. But just like not getting enough opportunities for the national side, Tiwary will leave with another unfulfilled dream - that of winning the Ranji Trophy. He played four Ranji finals, but always ended up on the losing side. At the end of his career, Tiwary would be happy that he won the hearts of the country's cricket lovers.
