Bengal veteran Manoj Tiwary, hung his boots after captaining his state team to a convincing win over Bihar in the team’s last Ranji Trophy match of the season at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.It was an emotional moment for the 38-year-old Tiwary, who served Bengal for more than 19 years. After the match, he knelt down at the pitch to pay his gratitude to the game and posed for photographs with his team-mates, who presented him a signed T-shirt and a framed photo of the side, fans and the ground staff.
In the evening, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) felicitated Tiwary, who is also the junior Sports Minister of the state, and presented him a golden bat for being the fourth batter from Bengal to achieve the milestone of scoring 10,000 First-Class runs earlier this season.“I am so happy to retire on my favourite ground. My only regret will be not winning the Ranji Trophy for Bengal,” said Tiwary.
Former India captain and Tiwary’s idol Sourav Ganguly said, “Having played with you I know your passion and dedication and I hope the youngsters emulate your achievements.”Tiwary, who led Bengal to the Ranji Trophy final last year, had announced his retirement before the start of the season, but came out of it despite having a sore knee after the CAB president Snehasish Ganguly requested him to lead the side in red-ball cricket for one more year.
Tiwary played 148 First-Class matches and gathered 10,195 runs at an average of 47.86, with a career-best 303 not out and 30 centuries. He scored 5,581 runs in List-A matches and 3,436 runs in T20s.Tiwary played for India in 12 ODIs, scoring 287 runs, including a knock of 104 not out against West Indies in Chennai in 2011. He also featured in three T20Is.
