Tiwary slams unbeaten 156 to put Bengal in command

Former skipper Manoj Tiwary hit an unbeaten 156 and Shreevats Goswami a combative 95 as Bengal recovered from a shaky start to end the day one of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Hyderabad at a commanding 366 for five, here on Sunday.

Desperate for an outright win to keep their qualifying hopes alive, Bengal, who chose Kalyani over Eden Gardens, found the going tough early on to be reduced to 60 for three inside 15 overs.

Opener A Raman fell for a duck in the fifth ball of the day, edging Ravi Kiran (2/47) behind the stumps after Bengal elected to bat.

Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (12) continued his poor run while debutant Kazi Saifi, who was drafted in after his stupendous show at the U-23 level, could not convert his start to be dismissed for 27.

But it was Tiwary who showed a class act as he paced his innings beautifully to lead Bengal's recovery.

Number five Anustup Majumdar (59) also gave a fine support with 86-ball 59 (8x4) as the duo put on 112 runs for the fourth wicket.

"I will rate as one of my favourite innings, maybe in top-seven as I have five times double hundred before this. This knock was however very special. It came in a crucial stage," Tiwary said after the day's proceedings.

"I was playing well, but a big knock was due. I had back spasm against Kerala. I knew I was doing well in batting and this was due. Given the situation, this is one of my best innings."
"I had to counter attack knowing that they were playing with only two pacers. I wanted to attack pretty early. They were on the backfoot from start."
"There was little movement early on. We knew that. But I'm happy to contribute to team's cause. Anustup and Shreevats played really well and had good partnerships."
"We would have been happy to see him score a hundred. 100 would have been more satisfying but it was an extraordinary catch. Nevertheless he played an important knock."
"We didn't expect to score so many runs on the first day. We have to score 500-plus if we want to bat once. We want to bat long tomorrow."
Brief ScoresL