Sourav Ganguly en route to his 88 at the Eden on Friday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: When Aashish Kapoor started the 52nd over of the final innings from the High Court end on Friday, Sourav Ganguly was already giving hint at bigger things to come.

He had already hit the off-spinner for a six a couple of overs ago. Bengal were down by that time, but certainly not out, with the left-hander carrying on his shoulders the near impossible task of saving the match for Bengal.

Kapoor pitched the first ball, Sourav played forward and it struck the pads. The bowler made a loud appeal for lbw, while the batsman promptly gestured that it was going down the leg side. Sourav then went up and exchanged a few words with the bowler.

In the next ball, Sourav went down the wicket, trying to lift Kapoor big again. He, however, failed to time it properly, the ball taking an inside edge to speed away behind the stumps. He moved to 88, but his focus was certainly disturbed and he kept Kapoor waiting to deliver the next ball.

It came along in the form of one that was a bit flighted, but pitched short. Sourav went after it and tried to sweep. He missed it completely and Dinesh Karthik quickly picked up the bails.

Sourav was shaking his head in disbelief when the square-leg umpire judged him short of the crease. But Kapoor was cock-a-hoop, having won the mental battle against somebody who is regarded for his mental toughness.

“After the first ball, Sourav said that the ball was going down the leg. I just reminded him that it’s the umpire’s job to decide on it. Obviously, his mental focus was shaken and I knew I had a chance to dismiss him,” Kapoor later revealed.

Sourav’s 88 (off 129 ball and containing 13 boundaries and one six) was a better statement of his confidence and composure compared to his first-innings 59. “It’s always a regret when you miss out on a century even in any form of cricket,” Sourav admitted.

Bengal’s chance of salvaging a draw also vanished with that delivery. Deep Dasgupta’s 47 delayed the inevitable, which came about a little over 50 minutes after lunch.

Set against the target of 497 runs, Bengal were skittled out for 274 ? suffering the ignominy of a 222-run defeat, their first in the competition so far.

R. Jesuraj, who took five wickets in the first innings, also returned an impressive figures of 21.1-3-76-6 in the second innings ? for a match haul of 11 wickets for 116 runs.

With the win, both Tamil Nadu and Bengal are on nine points each.