Mumbai: He has been in and out of the team for some time now but Manoj Tiwary is hopeful that his consistent performances in domestic cricket will help him get a longer rope with the Indian team.
"I believe that I will get an opportunity and hopefully, it will be a longer rope I guess," said Tiwary, whose 151 propelled East into the Duleep Trophy final.
Tiwary said he has matured with age as a player and does not throw away his wicket as he had done earlier on.
"Earlier, I used to throw away my wicket in the middle phase. But now I am trying to capitalise on whatever form is with me right now."
"I have become more experienced now and I know my game really well now. I have made a lot of changes in my batting as well with the help of my coach and others who have helped me in my cricket. Earlier I used to be very aggressive, now I have calmed down a bit. I know my game really well better than before."
Manoj said that now he doesn't think about what others are thinking.
"Earlier, I used to carry lot of baggage with me. I used to think about other people who are watching and that I have to impress them. Things like I have to play on the up, I have to play lofted shot like others. But over a period of time, I have realised what is my game and tried to improve on that. That helped me a lot. I have become more consistent now. I just go out there, watch the ball and play my game."
On today's knock, the 28-year-old Bengal batsman said that he had to build up the East innings
"I had to build the innings from there because we wanted to see off the first 10 overs because the ball was moving around. I paced my innings really well today.
"I felt very good about my batting when I went in to bat and I knew that when the moisture will dry up I will take full advantage of the wicket because I knew that if I can build a big partnership with my fellow batsmen definitely at the end it will help the team."
He said chasing a target of 250 was always going to be a challenge and added that once his team sent back dangerman Yuvraj cheaply he knew East will cruise home.
"When I went in to bat, I knew that if we score around 250 on this wicket, we will be able to defend it because it was a gripping a little bit as well. Any score in the middle is a pressure when you get runs. Our bowlers bowled excellently. So, full credit goes to them as well."
"We got a couple of wickets early, and the crucial wicket of Yuvraj Singh because we knew that only he can take the match away from us. We bowled in the right areas and got him," the skipper concluded.
