Press Trust of India
Kalyani, Nov 23: Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran (88, 156b, 10×4, 1×6) stood tall amidst ruins with a classy 88 with as many as 20 wickets fell on the opening day of Bengal’s penultimate Ranji Trophy group league encounter against Orissa, here Monday.
It was the frail-looking batman’s effort which took Bengal to a first innings total of 142 on a pitch which was distinctly under-prepared. The Orissa bowling led by Dhiraj Singh (5/58) who was well-supported by Suryakant Pradhan (3/15) was responsible for the Bengal downfall.
The turn in the pitch was apparent when Orissa were bundled out for 107 in 29 overs with young off-spinner Aamir Gani (6/34) achieving his career best efforts. He was well supported by the left-arm spin duo of Pragyan Ojha (2/25) and debutant Anurag Tiwary (2/26).
With a small but important first innings lead of 35 runs, Bengal openers Easwaran (20 batting) and Sayan Sekhar Mondal (three batting) added 23 runs in nine overs in the second essay. The overall lead swelled to 58 runs with the match unlikely to last even three full days.
The performer of the day certainly was young “The pitch was difficult to bat on. The key is to play your shots as late as possible and you have to show a lot of resolve,” Easwaran said after his three-hour 22 minute stint at the crease, which was also Bengal’s first innings span.
When Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary decided to bat on a cracked surface at the Bengal Academy Ground here, it seemed like the move had backfired with half of the team back in hut for 56.
When Orissa came into bat, seasoned Ojha struck the first blow dismissing rival captain Natraj Behera (four). Govind Poddar (three) was castled by Gani and fellow opener Ranjit Singh was caught behind off Ojha.
It was due to the efforts of Aravind Singh (21, 17b, 4×4) and some lower-order hitting by Suryakant Pradhan (19, 13b, 1×4, 2×6) which took Orissa past the 100-run mark.
Brief Scores: Bengal 142 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 88; Dhiraj Singh 5/58, Suryakant Pradhan 3/15) and 23 for no loss; Orissa 107 (Aamir Gani 6/34, Pragyan Ojha 2/25). Match to continue.
Other matches
(At Lahli) Haryana 112 (Pankaj Singh 4/10, Rajat Bhatia 3/41); Rajasthan 75/1 (V Saxena 38 batting). Match to continue.
(At Hubli) Karnataka 278/1 (Mayank Agarwal 114 batting, Robin Uthappa 134 batting) vs Delhi. Match to continue.
