-Shamik Chakrabarty at Eden Gardens
Bengal signed off with a bang, winning by an innings and 13 runs against Punjab and clinching seven points from this Ranji Trophy game at Eden Gardens. It took their points tally to 21 from seven group league matches. But they fell behind Kerala and Haryana in Elite Group C, and failed to qualify for the knockouts.
From Bengal’s perspective, the washed out game against Bihar in Kalyani would rankle. It was a seven-pointer for the hosts. But the ground wasn’t covered and rain on the match-eve put paid any chances of play over the next four days.
That said, batting implosions in both innings (85 all out in the second) against Haryana didn’t do Bengal any favours. Actually, this has been a mixed bag season for them. Away from home, against good teams like Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, they held sway. At the same time, Bengal failed to show the winning mentality in matches where a little more cutting edge could have given them some extra points. The fixture against Kerala was an example.
The mitigating factor was the absence of a few key players for a good chunk of the season. Abhimanyu Easwaran, the team’s best batsman, was with the Indian team in Australia. Then, a finger injury ruled him out of the last two group league matches. Akash Deep has become a regular in the Indian team in red-ball cricket and Bengal will have to learn to cope with his absence. Mukesh Kumar was a travelling reserve in Australia and picked up a niggle after returning home. Shahbaz Ahmed, the spin-bowling all-rounder, too, suffered an injury.
After the win against Punjab, Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s team-talk was positive. He praised the boys and urged them to improve next season. Asked by RevSportz if he would continue as head coach, Shukla said: “I haven’t thought about it yet.”
He is set to write an email to the BCCI, offering a few suggestions. “I would write an email soon, asking the BCCI not to schedule the Ranji Trophy matches in the East Zone in October,” Shukla said at the post-match press conference. “The monsoon is still not over in our part of the world in October. Matches get washed out and teams suffer.”
The second point in Shukla’s email would focus on playing the group league matches in the Ranji Trophy at one go. “The Ranji Trophy is our premier domestic tournament, a stepping stone for Test cricket and the group league matches should be played at a stretch,” he said.
The Ranji Trophy fixtures this term had two halves. After the first five rounds, there was a pause for the white-ball tournaments – Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy. Red-ball cricket returned for the final two group league rounds in January.
Also, Shukla’s suggestion would include a rejig in India A selection policy. “Players like Abhimanyu Easwaran, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Kishore – those who are nearing thirty – shouldn’t be considered for the India A team. They have played enough for India A. Now, if they are to be picked for the Indian team, that should be based on their performances in domestic cricket. Young and upcoming players should be picked for India A.”
Coming back to Bengal’s game against Punjab, the third day’s play started an hour late due to bad light. Punjab resumed on 62/3, needing another 88 runs to avoid the innings defeat. They folded for 139 in their second innings to concede a bonus point. Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal returned with 4/69. His new-ball partner Sumit Mohanta took 3/29. Jaiswal was the Player-of-the-Match for his century and an eight-wicket match haul.
“Our batsmen failed to show the required application,” Punjab coach Wasim Jaffer lamented.
Brief scores: Punjab 191 and 139 all out (Mayank Markande 31; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 4/69, Sumit Mohanta 3/29) lost to Bengal 343 by an innings and 13 runs
Points: Bengal 7, Punjab 0
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