Chennai, Sep 15: Manoj Tiwary is one of the batsmen trying to seal a spot in the middle order of the Indian batting line-up. A hard-hitting batsman, the 26-year-old is also a useful bowler and a brilliant fielder.
The Bengal cricketer, who had been out of the side after a forgettable ODI debut against Australia in 2008, was called up to the national side as a replacement player last year. Since his return to the side in the shorter formats of the game, he has tried to make the most of the opportunities that have come his way. During the Sri Lankan tour last month, Tiwary impressed with the bat and ball in the two one-day internationals in which he played. Gaining confidence from his recent performances, Tiwary is geared up to play for India in the 2012 ICC World T20.
Before leaving for Sri Lanka, Tiwary briefly spoke to bcci.tv about his recent experiences and his preparation for the upcoming tournament.
Excerpts:
On the boost he got from his performance in Sri Lanka
When you score runs or take wickets, it gives you a lot of confidence. And especially since I was on the bench I was very determined to score those runs and contribute in bowling and fielding as well. So, I was very pleased about my performance. I created a few run outs as well; so overall I am very pleased with my efforts.
On whether, and how, the recent tour to Sri Lanka will help while playing in the ICC World T20
We have an understanding as far as the conditions are concerned, the weather and how it [the wickets] will play in the day/night matches. So, in those aspects we will have an advantage.
On contributing with bat and ball in the Twenty20 format
We have been playing the T20 format for a long time now, including in the IPL. We have seen what bowlers like to do. They want to bowl yorkers when they are getting hit for runs and they bowl a lot of slower ones, slower bouncers. Keeping all those deliveries in mind as a batsman we all try to improvise in the nets. We try and master those strokes in the nets so that we can play in a match situation when we are required to. As far as bowling is concerned, you have to develop a lot of variations so that you can deceive the batsman and get him out. As you know, it is a high intensity game so you have to be ready all the time while fielding and expect the ball to come to you all the time. You can’t take it easy at any point of time.
On his preparation for ICC World T20
It has been really nice. We have had a camp in Bangalore. We had a fruitful preparation along with Yuvi Paaji [Yuvraj Singh] and the other boys. I am very happy with my preparations.
