Calcutta: Bengal’s transformation this season has surprised Balwinder Singh Sandhu too. “I haven’t seen this sort of a Bengal side before. They look so good ? The body language is brilliant ? The way they fielded was amazing ? I was never used to this sort of aggression before,” the Baroda coach said.

The former India seamer said: “Most of the players of the current lot have gone through the National Cricket Academy. I have worked with them and hence seen them from close quarters. Avishek Jhunjhunwala is new but should be a fine player. Subhamoy Das, Deep Dasgupta and Laxmi Ratan Shukla all played good knocks in this match ? Patience was the key to their success.”

Sandhu felt the match was decided in the first session on the third day. “We needed to pick at least two wickets during that period, but failed. Deep and Laxmi played a mature innings. We could have done better ?

“The worst part about coaching is that the coach can’t perform on the field ? For example, I knew Subhamoy had a weakness against the incoming ball, but the bowlers failed to exploit it. Rakesh Patel and Rajesh Pawar are carrying injuries ?”

Sandhu felt Uttar Pradesh’s pace attack was good. “Ashish Zaidi and Praveen Kumar can be dangerous ? But spinner Piyush Chawla still has a lot to learn. I don’t think he still has the capability to run through any side.”