MUMBAI: On a day that was dominated by tame dismissals, East Zone captain Manoj Tiwary gave a masterclass in batting with a stunning 151 (121b) to power his team into the final of the Deodhar Trophy with an impressive 52-run victory against North Zone. The more fancied rivals were guilty of being complacent as a spirited East Zone bowled out their opponents for 221 in 47.1 overs after posting 273/8 when asked to bat first.
With national selector Sandeep Patil in attendance, the semifinal clash here at the Wankhede Stadium provided an identical platform to two star batters in each team. Both Tiwary and Yuvraj Singh, who replaced Harbhajan Singh as North Zone captain after the latter was found to be unwell, had a tailor-made situation to bail their team out and push their case forward.
While Tiwary strengthened his with a solid show after coming into bat at 33/2 in the 12th over, Yuvraj (4) cut a sorry figure with his avoidable poke to a seemingly innocuous delivery. In contrast, Tiwary slammed 15 fours and four sixes.Tiwary’s blitz lifted his team, which was evident in the way Ashoke Dinda (2/59) and Veer Pratap Singh (1/30) bowled. Such was their accuracy that North lost both their openers inside the first five overs with just eight on the board.
Yuvraj’s dismissal pushed them further back and though Gurkeertat Mann (83 off 121) tried his best, the rising target put them under severe pressure. Rishi Dhawan provided support, but struggled to get big hits while Parvez Rasool at seven was wasted as East booked their place in the final to be played under lights on Wednesday.
