Saurashtra openers Sagar Jogyani (left) and Chirag Pathak at the Eden on Tuesday. Telegraph pictures

Calcutta: Bengal bowlers Tuesday paid heavily for their profligacy as Saurashtra batsmen made merry on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy match at the Eden.

The visitors rode centuries from openers Chirag Pathak and Sagar Jogyani to reach 372 for three at close.

Chesteshwar Pujara (68) and Ravindra Jadeja (14) were unbeaten at stumps and Saurashtra can hope to pile on the misery on a slow and low wicket.

More than the lacklustre bowling, it was Manoj Tiwary’s decision to field after winning the toss that was the day’s talking point.

The overnight grass on the wicket had been trimmed and there was no reason for the think tank to surrender the advantage of batting first. That the decision was wrong was underlined by the three-pronged pace attack’s ineffectiveness during the day.

The openers, particularly Chirag, set the tone with an attacking display that took the zip out of the bowling. The 206-run opening partnership left Saurashtra with very little room for error.

Nineteen runs came off the first over, bowled by Ranadeb Bose, as the pair got into a T20 mode.

Fifty came up in the seventh over and 100 in the 20th. Ranadeb’s first spell, of four overs, went for 44 runs and Tiwary was forced to bring on Sourav Ganguly as early as the eighth over. That didn’t stop the flow of runs as Sourav Sarkar, too, wasted the new ball.

The left-handed Chirag was ferocious on anything pitched short and didn’t hesitate to hit the ball over the top. Playing his ninth Ranji match, he wasn’t weighed down by his rivals’ reputation and even lifted Ganguly for a straight six.

Jogyani played second fiddle as Chirag went berserk at the other end. But once he found there was no demon in the wicket or among the bowlers, he opened up. There were some superb strokes as he drove and cut with disdain.

Ashok Dinda was the only bowler who looked capable of posing some problems with his pace and line. But the tendency to at times bowl short put paid to his hopes. There was nothing significant about the other bowlers who were taken to the cleaners without much ado.

Bengal huffed and puffed for a breakthrough till an hour after lunch when Ranadeb foxed Jogyani with one that held its line to trap him leg before. Jogyani’s 103, his maiden first-class hundred, took 194 minutes and came off 142 balls with 19 boundaries.

Chirag, who had slowed down after Jogyani’s departure, fell for 118 (134 balls, 17x4, 1x6).

Jaydev Shah survived when, on 39, Arindam Das dropped an easy chance but looked in control during his 112-minute stay. The Saurashtra captain fell to a soft dismissal, driving straight into the hands of Deep Dasgupta at cover for 59.

Pujara and Jadeja have already added 44 runs in an unfinished fourth wicket partnership.

Even as the pair was to made to play in near twilight to make up for the slow over-rate, Pujara stamped his class with his timing and effortless strokeplay. His temperament will be put to test on Wednesday as Bengal look to make early inroads into the rival line-up.