Bengal have put themselves in a position of command in their Ranji Trophy Group C clash against Railways in Surat.
At stumps on Sunday, the second day of the game, Bengal had the Railways wobbling at 97/5, after posting a formidable first-innings total of 474.
The ones to star for Bengal on Day II were middle-order batsman Sumanta Gupta (120), who registered his maiden first-class century, and seamer all-rounder Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, who took four of the five Railways wickets that fell later in the day. Suraj will resume bowling on Day III with figures of 4/17 off nine overs.
Left-arm spinner all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed is the other wicket-taker so far for Bengal.
Earlier, overnight centurion Anustup Majumdar and Sumanta resumed from where they had left off on Day I. The pair added 56 to the overnight total of 273/5 before Anustup departed off the bowling of Zubair Ali for 135, with his innings comprising 19 boundaries.
However, Sumanta continued at his flow and also got decent support from young left-arm spinner Vishal Bhati (36) in the duo’s 75-run seventh-wicket partnership.
For a late bloomer like Sumanta, the century was certainly a deserved one, especially after having come quite close to recording three figures during his innings of 82 and 63 against Uttarakhand and Gujarat, respectively.
What bodes well for the 34-year-old from Rampurhat was the intent he had shown right through his 153-ball stay at the crease, hitting 15 boundaries and two maximums.
After Anustup and Sumanta had set it up with their tons, Suraj ensured to double the advantage for Bengal.
Brief scores: Bengal 474 (Anustup Majumdar 135, Sumanta Gupta 120; Kunal Yadav 4/98). Railways 97/5 (Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 4/17). At Stumps, Day II.