Atreyo Mukhopadhyay in Kolkata
Some indiscreet shot-making and disciplined bowling by Gujarat restricted Bengal to 244/7 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match at Eden Gardens on Saturday. A few got starts, even made half-centuries, but none apart from Sumanta Gupta showed the temperament to dig deep. The No. 6 batter was unbeaten on 58 at stumps. Bengal have a strong attack featuring Mohammed Shami and their bowlers can put pressure on the opposition, but they would know that their team could have put more runs on the board.
Two dismissals on either side of lunch summed up Bengal’s day. Anustup Majumdar, their most reliable batter, came in at No. 4 and spent 13 balls without opening his account. On the 14th, he stepped out attempting a lofted shot over mid-off and ended up ballooning the ball just behind the bowler. No. 3 Sudip Gharami struck a polished 56 before he too attempted a heave and missed it to be clean bowled. Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai was the bowler on both occasions. He also dismissed Abishek Porel after the left-hand batter had made an attractive 51.
Gujarat won the toss and inserted Bengal, hoping to exploit the first-hour assistance that the fast bowlers are known to get at Eden. There wasn’t much on offer, in terms of swing or carry and once the ball lost shine, a few deliveries kept low. Opening bowler Chintan Gaja got Sudip Chatterjee (3) in the fourth over of the day. Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran (20) and Gharami appeared to have restored the innings with a 67-run partnership. After Gaja trapped Abhimanyu leg-before, Bengal lost Majumdar and Gharami to slump to 95/4.
This brought together Porel and Gupta and their association was the most productive one for Bengal. Porel was unafraid to play shots and struck some fluent drives and also pulled a few to bring up his 12th first-class half-century off 53 balls with nine fours. But after being tied down for a while, he tried to break free instead of grinding it out. His attempt to sweep from outside off was caught behind and that ended a partnership of 83 runs. Shahbaz Ahmed fell soon after to make it 183/6.
Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (21) joined Gupta and played some good-looking shots. He fell attempting one too many after adding 41 runs for the seventh wicket. Gupta was unmoved by what happened at the other end and showed good understanding of the situation. There was no rush of blood, no urge to show who the boss was and hardly any false shot. His second half-century of the season keeps alive Bengal’s chances of pushing the total closer to 300. Akash Deep (nine) was keeping him company when bad light stopped play after 72 overs.
Although Desai was the most successful bowler, Gaja and Arzan Nagaswalla kept things tight whenever they bowled. The new-ball duo didn’t offer anything loose and despite not getting much help from the pitch, bowled clever lines with subtle variations to put the brakes on scoring. Nagaswalla, the left-armer, troubled the right-handers repeatedly when he came around the wicket. They were economical too, as Nagaswalla took one for 44 from 17 overs and Gaja two for 46 from 19.
Brief scores: Bengal 244/7 in 72 ovs (Sumanta Gupta 58 batting, Sudip Gharami 56, Abishek Porel 51, Siddharth Desai 3/55, Chintan Gaja 2/46) vs Gujarat
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