Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary isn't concerned about the MS Dhoni factor

Manoj Tiwary led West Bengal side will face MS Dhoni’s Jharkhand in the semi-final of the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy. The combination of youth and experience is Bengal’s greatest asset, feels Manoj Tiwary. He also emphasized on the upper hand Jharkhand enjoys over Bengali, i.e. it is led by a man of Dhoni’s caliber. But the Bengal skipper doesn’t want to be overwhelmed by any particular names.

Jharkhand for the first time made it to the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy this season and continued their good run in the domestic circuit during the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well. “Jharkhand are indeed a good side. They did well in Ranji Trophy. They are currently led by a man like (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, which is a big advantage for them,” Tiwary was quoted by the Telegraph India.

Bengal also have quite a few heavyweights in their lineup the skipper himself along with Ashok Dinda and Pragyan Ojha have the experience of international cricket behind their back as well. “At the same time, we can’t be overwhelmed by names. We are not overwhelmed by Dhoni or worried about him. We have some experienced players like Sreevats (Goswami), Anustup (Majumdar), (Ashok) Dinda and Pragyan Ojha.

“What has come as a great advantage for us is that the youngsters are doing very well. There are players like Abhimanyu (Easwaran), Sudip (Chatterjee), Agniv Pan, Kanishk Seth, Sayan Ghosh and Amir Gani, who have performed at the right moments. I have absolutely no doubt that we will make the final tomorrow,” Tiwary said.

According to Tiwary, the players need to be motivated to obtain good results. He said the Bengal team management has managed to do that in the past and that worked as a great advantage for them.

Talking about the opponents the 31-year-old said, “We have to stick to their plans… Jharkhand have players like Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary and Virat Singh. And with Dhoni leading them, they are definitely a strong side.”

Rajiv Kumar, the Jharkhand coach described Bengal as a mix of young and experienced players. But said his boys know how to tackle difficult situations.

“From day one in this edition of the Vijay Hazare, we have been playing knock-out like matches. We started badly, so we had to win every match to reach this place. The boys will all be there to take Jharkhand to the final,” said the coach.