Manoj Tiwary drags Sourav Ganguly into spat with Gautam Gambhir

DAY 3 OF THE Bengal vs Delhi Ranji Trophy match witnessed intense drama as cricketers Manoj Tiwary and Gautam Gambhir got into a verbal spat, resulting in a heated altercation at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium on Saturday.

The incident occured in the eighth over of the Bengal innings, when their skipper Tiwary walked out to bat after the team's score read 2/2. For Delhi, spinner Manan Sharma was set to bowl with several close-in fielders fired up. It is learnt that Tiwary asked for some silence as he took guard, but the request fell on deaf ears as Delhi fielders continued to make noise and one of the fielders said a word or two to the batsman. 

Tiwary, who wasn't amused shot back, and that is when Delhi captain Gambhir intervened, hearing Tiwary's 'abusive' reply to his teammate. Gambhir walked up to Tiwary aggressively, before umpire K. Srinath came in to settle the duo. Both captains have been fined for the on-field incident, with Gambhir fined 70 percent of match fee, while Tiwary was let off at 40 percent. 

At the end of the day's play, Tiwary said that things had got personal and that Gambhir had 'crossed the line'.

“I did not do anything. Everything is recorded. I was quiet, and went out to bat. He (Gambhir) is a senior and as a youngster I have a lot of respect for what he has done for the country, and I always give that respect. But I don’t like when someone says something that crosses the line,” Tiwary was quoted by The Indian Express. 

Meanwhile, Gambhir was 'surprised' with reports of him pushing an on-field umpire.

“After conceding the first innings lead, we were keen to press home the advantage. The match was well poised and we got fielders around Manoj. At this point, he started taking longer than usual to face the next ball. My team-mates urged Manoj to refrain from wasting time. Instead of getting on with his batting he started abusing some of the Delhi players. I intervened and told him what I thought about his demeanour, and this in turn led to a verbal exchange. The umpires did a wonderful job of calming the situation and the matter ended.”

He further denied threatening to beat Tiwary and said that the on-field umpire had video evidence showing Tiwary pushing Delhi bowler Pradeep Sangwan.

Tiwary later added more masala to the incident by bringing in Sourav Ganguly into the scene:

"He made racist remarks made about Sourav Ganguly and Bengalis. I spoke to Sourav Ganguly and he is very upset that his name has been dragged in the matter. We will never accept anything against Sourav Ganguly," he is quoted saying in a PTI report. 

"Gautam Gambhir is not saying the truth. If I had done what Gambhir is saying why have I been fined 40 percent and him 70 percent," the Bengal cricketer added. 
 

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