KOLKATA: Bengal's long wait for a big total finally looks like coming true as their batters dominated Day I of their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match against Chandigarh at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Thursday. This Ranji season's first century for the side too came on the day as skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran led from the front to hit 114. Coach Arun Lal, who sounded a bit worried with the batting unit before the game, must be relieved to see the boys end the first day's play at 326 for six.
Bengal once again made a bad start losing opener Sudip Gharami without any run on the board on the fourth ball of the morning after Chandigarh skipper Manan Vohra won the toss and put them into bat. Youngster Ritwik Roy Chowdhury prevented further collapse by being involved in a 42-run second-wicket stand with his skipper before being dismissed for 12.
But Bengal took full control of the proceedings after Anushtup Majumder joined Easwaran. The duo frustrated the Chandigarh attack and kept rotating the strike well along with finding the odd boundaries. The Bengal skipper reached his three-figure mark after the lunch interval playing strokes all over the park. The opener finally fell facing 172 deliveries and hitting 12 boundaries. His partner Majumder was unlucky to miss out on his century, falling five runs short after being trapped in front by Gaurav Gambhir. Easwaran and Majumder were involved in a 193-run third-wicket partnership.
Although Bengal lost both the in-form players Abhishek Porel and Shahbaz Ahmed in quick succession, former skipper Manoj Tiwary held fort firmly. The middle-order batter stayed undefeated on 42 while Sayan Sekhar Mondol gave him good support getting 33 runs in quick time off 44 balls only.
The Bengal skipper was happy with his side's show. "It was a decent day for us," he said. "It feels good to get 300-plus runs on the opening day. We want to control the game from here," he added.
