KOLKATA: It was the same old story for
Bengal
. The hosts got off to a good start in the first session, consolidated their position in the second but then allowed their rivals
Madhya Pradesh
to come back in to the game in the last session as they ended Day one of their
Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match up at 246 for four at the Eden Gardens on Monday.
Although openers
Abhishek Raman and Abhimanyu Easwaran saw through the initial tricky first hour after being sent in by MP skipper Naman Ojha on winning the toss, the duo failed to rotate the strike.
Kaushik Ghosh
, who came in place of Pradipta Pramanik as Bengal opted to go in with seven specialist batsmen, came in after the departure of Raman, also failed to increase the run rate. Wicketkeeper-batsman Vivek Singh made his Ranji debut coming in place of off-colour Shreevats Goswami.
It was, however, surprising to see Ghosh come up the order in place of regular No. 3 batsman Sudip Chatterjee.
Ghosh who made his Bengal debut way back in 2014 Ranji Trophy semifinal match against Maharashtra, has played only four matches so far. The left-hander, whose last Ranji match was against Vidarbha at Kalyani last season, did not look confident initially and was rattled by MP pacer Avesh Khan's pace. Khan, coming in as first change bowler, was instrumental in providing the first breakthrough by having Raman caught by a diving Mihir Hirwani at mid-wicket as the batsman top edged a slower one while trying to play on the leg-side.
Easwaran and Ghosh were involved in a 136-run second wicket stand that led the platform for a good score. Just when both the batsmen looked good enough to bring up their centuries, Easwaran departed on the last ball before the tea break for 86, edging one to wicketkeeper Ojha while trying to drive pacer Kuldeep Sen.
However, Ghosh went on to get his second Ranji ton off 185 balls But the left-handed batsman perished just after that trying to play one from part-time off-spinner Shubham Sharma late only to get a thick edge to Ojha. Ghosh faced 189 deliveries hitting 14 boundaries during his innings.
Ghosh later said he was disappointed not to carry on after getting his ton. "I should have played that ball on the front foot," he said about his dismissal.
Chatterjee, coming in at No. 5, fell in the very next over trying to play across the line to be trapped in front by Hirwani.
Things could have been worse had MP held on to some chances. Skipper Tiwary played his shots well but was lucky to survive on 21 when his mistimed slog off Hirwani dropped behind the cover fielder. Earlier Hirwani was also unable to hold on to a smashing drive by Tiwary on his own bowling.
Anushtup Majumder too got a life on the last ball of the day when he was dropped at first slip while trying to play one to the third man.
The onus will now be on Tiwary (31*) and Majumder (7*) to help Bengal pile up a big score and put pressure on the opposition.
Start a Conversation
Post comment