Majumdar scripts Bengal comeback
TANGI, ODISHA : Anustup Majumdar’s gritty century rescued Bengal from 46/5 to 308/6 at stumps in a dramatic turnaround on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Odisha here on Thursday.
Put in by a pace-heavy Odisha, Bengal found themselves in all sorts of trouble in the first session. Suryakant Pradhan (2/96), Preet Singh Chohan (2/52) and Basant Mohanty (1/48) used the early moisture to advantage and blew away the Bengal top order.
But old warhorse Majumdar, playing in his sixth match of the season, led a turnaround with an unbeaten 136 (20 fours).
Rookie all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, a Royal Challengers Bangalore recruit in IPL, also showed maturity at No. 7. The left-hander slammed an unbeaten 82 to help Bengal take control in a fruitful final session. With the duo putting on an unbroken 167-run stand for the seventh wicket, Bengal looked solid in the final session, which saw them scoring 99 runs at an impressive run-rate of 3.41. Wicketkeeper Shreevats Goswami chipped in with 34 and lent Majumdar the initial support in a 95-run partnership.
Majumdar elegantly swept Govind Poddar to the square-leg boundary to get to his eighth century, his first since December 2017. Incidentally, Majumdar’s last century (132 not out in second innings) too had come in a Ranji Trophy quarter-final when Bengal
got the better of Gujarat in 2017-18.
Earlier, Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was made the captain this season in place of Manoj Tiwary, continued his miserable run and fell for seven to become the first casualty. Pace spearhead Mohanty, who is playing in his 100th first-class match, dismissed Koushik Ghosh as both the Bengal openers were back in the dressing room inside seven overs. Suryakant Pradhan trapped Abhishek Raman as they slid to 25 for three. Arnab Nandi looked set and slammed four elegant boundaries, but could not convert his start. And then came the day’s biggest blow as Debabrata Pradhan accounted for the in-form Tiwary.
Brief scores (Day1) : Bengal 308/6 in 86 overs (Anustup Majumdar 136 batting, Shahbaz Ahmed 82 batting; Preet Singh Chohan (2/52)) vs Odisha.
PATEL’S CENTURY
VALSAD,GUJARAT: Skipper Parthiv Patel led from the front with his 27th first-class century and helped Gujarat reach 330 for four on the first day of their quarter-final against Goa here.
The left-handed batsman scored an unbeaten 118 off 156 balls at the Sardar Patel Stadium, hitting 15 boundaries off the Goa bowlers. In the process, Patel also completed 11,000 first-class runs.
Opting to bat, Gujarat openers Samit Gohil (52) and Priyank Panchal (28) gave a sedate start and added 64 for the first wicket before Panchal holed out to cover.
One-down Bhargav Merai (84 off 113 balls) joined Gohil, who failed to convert his start. He poked at a wide delivery from leftarm spinner Darshan Misal and was caught by Snehal Kauthankar in the slips. Patel and Merai then started the rescue act.
The duo added 139 runs.
Merai, however, could not get his eighth first-class hundred, as he departed after a well-made 84.
Leg-break bowler Amit Verma (2-73) got Mrai as well as Manprit Juneja (1). But the fall of two quick wickets did not deter Patel, who held the innings together. Brief scores: Gujarat 330/4 (Parthiv Patel 118 not out, Bhargav Merai 84; Amit Verma 2-73) versus Goa.
SAURASHTRA AHEAD
ONGOLE, AP: Fighting half-centuries by Vishvarajsingh Jadeja (73, 179 balls, 10 fours), Chirag Jani (53, 128 balls, 5 fours) and Sheldon Jackson (50) helped Saurashtra make 226 for 6 in 79 overs on the opening day of their quarter-final against Andhra. For the home team, left-arm medium-pacer Yarra Prithvi Raj was impressive, picking up three wickets in 20 overs conceding 51 runs.
Brief scores: Saurashtra 226 for 6 in 79 overs (Vishvarajsingh Jadeja 73, Chirag Jani 53 batting, Prithvi Raj Yarra 3/51) vs Andhra.
BAD LIGHT
JAMMU: Karnataka were wobbling at 14 for 2 at stumps after only six overs were possible due to bad light on the opening day of their quarter-final against Jammu and Kashmir. Play started after tea and only six overs were possible during which Karnataka struggled against Jammu and Kashmir new ball pair of Aquib Nabi (1/6) and Mujtaba Yousuf (1/5). Karnataka lost both their openers -Ravikumar Samarth (5) and Devdutt Padikkal (2).