5th ODI: Manoj Tiwary showcases his skills with a ton

Manoj Tiwary slammed his first ODI century, against the West Indies in the final match of the series in Chennai. He took 125 balls to complete what was a defiant knock in the face of determined bowling. He however, retired due to cramps.

Tiwary came to the middle in the first over itself after stand-in skipper Gautam Gambhir won the toss and opted to bat. Although the hosts had already clinched the series, the start was far from what was expected, especially after an explosive display in the previous match at Indore. Kemar Roach claimed the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane and returned to remove Parthiv Patel with his next delivery.

Tiwary negotiated the hat-trick with a confident defense, standing on the front-foot. The pitch provided the bowlers with the occasional low bounce but Tiwary managed to counter it by staying firm on his front-foot stance.

Andre Russell was the first to be punished by Tiwary as, in the second over itself, the batsman was rewarded for coming forward. The ball was sent to the mid-off boundary. Four more boundaries followed, each more confident than the previous as Tiwary completed his fifty off 75 deliveries.

Gambhir managed to give Tiwary good company and the two put on 83 runs for the third wicket. Once Gambhir departed, Tiwary found the company of Virat Kohli and the two rotated the strike with intent. While Kohli himself played a rather reserved innings in  comparison to his more aggressive stroke-play, Tiwary smashed 5 boundaries more to complete his century. He even lofted a shot beyond the boundary en route to his ton.

While Tiwary made his international debut against Australia in 2008 and since had more outings in the Indian Premier League than for the national side, the Bengal player will look to build on his recent ton to lay claims to more such chances to don the blue.