Manoj Tiwary's first outing in the Dhaka Premier League
Heads turned on February 6th 2016 when an IPL star, Manoj Tiwary, was left unsold in this year’s auction. Coming in at a base price of INR I crore, Tiwary, an established player having amassed 1324 runs in 78 matches representing the Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils was ignored by team owners. There was good news around the corner for Tiwary however, as he was signed up by Abahani Limited in the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League recently.
Slated into first team action immediately against the Kalabagan Cricket Academy, Manoj Tiwary didn’t take long before getting down to business, playing a pivotal knock in the middle of the innings. Coming into bat at #4, Tiwary scored a brisk 50 ball 40, with 3 fours at a strike rate of 80. He stitched a 31 run third wicket partnership with Avishek Mitra and a 49 run fourth wicket partnership with Nazmul Shanto. It was crucial that he didn’t lose his wicket early as his team had just lost their two openers in a span of 14 runs.
Tiwary, however, will be disappointed that he didn’t kick on from there, losing his wicket to Indian leg spinner Jatin Saxena, picking out Mehedi Miraz in the field at the end of the 37th over. His team went onto post a commanding total of 282 in 50 overs. It proved to be insufficient as Kalabagan Cricket Academy, led by an inspired Mahmudul Hasan century, chased down the total in 46.5 overs. Manoj Tiwary chipped in with the ball as well, bowling 2 tidy overs and going for 14 runs.
Prior to his arrival, Abahani Limited, captained by Tamim Iqbal, managed to win only three out of six matches in the tournament and were 7th in the standings. He will be hoping to bring about a turnaround in fortunes and help his side climb up the table.
ABOUT THE DPL : The DPL gained List A tournament status in 2013 – 14. Played in a round robin format followed by playoffs, it has 12 participating teams with a system of promotion and relegation. Abahani Limited is the most successful team in the history of the DPL with 17 wins in its 32 year history.