Tiwary says trying to read Watson's mind helped him hit 18 off the Aussie's last over

Things were going well for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, with Rising Pune Supergiant at 132 for 7 after 18 overs, until Shane Watson was asked to bowl the penultimate over of the innings. That over ultimate cost the Bangalore side as Manoj Tiwari smashed 18 runs off the over (plus 1 extra) to take Pune to a respectable 161/8 at the end of the allotted 20 overs.

Tiwary said that he was trying to predict what Watson would bowl to him, and also exploited the fact that Watson did not bowl to the field that Virat Kohli had set for him. Tiwary was quoted by ESPN as saying, "I was just trying to read the mind of the bowler. I was observing what he [Shane Watson] was trying to do to MS Dhoni. He set a field and bowled differently. He got a wicket in the form of MS. For the kind of field set, I knew he'll bowl similarly to me. Once the bouncer went for a wide, I knew he wouldn't bowl another one. He bowled in my areas, he missed his execution and I was up for it. Pretty happy to contribute in the last phase."

Tiwary also said that the fact that he is looking to play aggressively is aiding his performances this year, as opposed to a couple of seasons back when he was used as a floater and asked to play according to the need of the hour for his former side, Delhi Daredevils. “This year, I made up my mind, no matter what the situation is, I'll look to play aggressively. That is the plan I had and it's helping me."