Kolkata: It was a smooth ride for Bengal on the opening day of their Elite Group ‘B’ Ranji Trophy encounter against Andhra as they ended at a healthy 289 for four in Visakhapatnam on Friday. In the absence of experienced Abhimanyu Easwaran, debutants Sourav Paul and Shreyansh Ghosh gave the side a good start after skipper Manoj Tiwary won the toss and elected to bat first.
Although Paul fell short of the three-figure mark by just four runs, veteran Anushtup Majumder hit another century to frustrate the Andhra bowlers.Bengal lost Ghosh and Sudip Kumar Gharami early. But, a 189-run third-wicket stand between Paul and Majumder helped them take full control of play. At stumps, Tiwary was unbeaten on 15 and giving him company was nightwatchman debutant Mohammed Kaif on zero. With still some decent batting to come, Bengal can hope to pile up a huge score and put the hosts under pressure.
Paul, who got picked on the basis of his good show for East Bengal in local cricket, lived up to the selectors’ expectations by providing the platform for the launch of a big innings. The innings of Paul and Majumder, who dominated the second session of play, were a study in contrast. While the former Bengal U-19 opener Paul was subdued and hit only 10 fours during his 232-ball stay in the middle, Majumder played a much more counter-offensive knock hitting 15 fours and two sixes for his 125. But more importantly Paul did see off the new ball which helped Majumder and later Tiwary to go for their shots.
The left-hander missed a deserving ton when he swept the ball straight to Gnaneshwar at midwicket off Mohammed Khan. Andhra got a late breakthrough when Majumder edged left-arm spinner Lalith Mohan to skipper Hanuma Vihari at first slip just an over before stumps.
In another setback for the hosts, wicketkeeper Ricky Bhui went off the field after being hit on head in the third session and didn’t return for the rest of the day.
Scoreboard
Bengal (1st innings): S Paul c C Gnaneshwar b M Khan 96, S Ghosh c C Gnaneshwar b N Reddy11, S Gharami c H Vihari b L Mohan 18, A Majumdar c H Vihari b L Mohan 125, M Tiwary batting15, M Kaif batting 0; Extras (b 13, lb 7, w 4) 24
Total (For 4 wkts, 86 ovs): 289
Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-62, 3-251, 4-289
Bowling: Sasikanth 16-6-35-0, N Reddy 15-1-57-1, P Raj Yarra 11-1-34-0, L Mohan 28-4-91-2, A Hebbar 3-0-6-0, Md Khan 13-0-46-1.
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