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[caption id="attachment_26343" align="alignnone" width="911"] Sourav Ganguly encourages Manoj and his team ahead of Ranji tie against Gujarat | Image : XtraTime[/caption]  

Kolkata: Manoj Tiwary and his team received huge encouragement from Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) President Sourav Ganguly ahead of its next tie against Gujarat. Sourav heaped praises on the cricketers for their recent show in Ranji Trophy in an informal get together at the Eden Gardens on Wednesdsay.

“This is the first time the teams are playing in the neutral venues and we have done quite well so far. Still a long way to go and we hope that the team will keep on performing well. This is a young side and all are playing well which is the best news for a team,” Ganguly said at an informal get together with the Bengal cricketers at the Eden Gardens.

The former India captain congratulated Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary and senior bowler Ashoke Dinda for putting up a great show so far. Dinda was instrumental in helping Bengal register a 43 runs win against Railways in the last match.He took 10 wickets in the match. Manoj too has been amongst runs, notching up his 22^nd ton in Ranji Trophy against Uttar Pradesh. He followed it with a brilliant 92 against Punjab in the second innings. The Bengal captain also contributed a crucial 48 runs against Railways.

“I congratulate Manoj (Tiwary) for the way he is leading the team and also (Ashoke) Dinda for becoming the highest wicket taker for Bengal as a pacer,” Ganguly added.

The CAB President also had words of encouragement for the young players.

 “I hope these young players continue to go on and play cricket at the highest level,” Ganguly said. Meanwhile, Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary was confident that the team will put up a good show in the second phase as well. “This is the effect of Vision 2020. The tips and guidance we have got from the experts are coming to good use. The team looks much better equipped even on foreign conditions,” he said.

“We are playing well as a unit. The best thing is that the batsmen are getting runs, the bowlers are getting wickets. Everyone is contributing is one way or the other. We have a great support staff in Joydeep Mukherjee and Ranadeb Bose and coach Sairaj Bahutule has held the team together and kept the morale very high,” he said. Talking about the coach, Manoj added: “He (Sairaj Bahutule) has won the Ranji trophy and knows how to win. He is bringing in his experience and this winning mentality which is invaluable.”  Talking about the next few assignments, he said: “Gujarat are playing very well. We are level on points but they are ahead on run rate. There there are Tamil Nadu and Mumbai. This is going to be a tough leg, but we have beaten Mumbai in the KSCA tournament and will hold a psychological edge,” he added.  The Bengal team will be leaving for Delhi tomorrow to take on Gujarat at Feroz Shah Kotla from November 05.