A moment from the Assam-Bengal match at Maligaon railway cricket ground in Guwahati on Thursday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Nov 2: Hosts Assam guaranteed themselves two points after taking a 43-run first innings lead at the end of the second day’s play of the Polly Umrigar Trophy (under-15) East Zone match against Bengal at NF Railway Stadium. The hosts were leading by 190 runs with five wickets in hand when stumps were drawn.

Chasing a first-innings score of 171 runs, the visitors resumed at the overnight score of 42 for four in 23 overs and were ripped apart by leggie Prabal Borkataky and off-spinner Ambar Bhattacharjee. The duo snared three wickets each to bundle out the visitors for 127 in 60.4 overs before lunch.

Assam were 147 for five when play ended.

Earlier in the day, Bengal’s left-handed combination of Vivek Singh (42) and Sambit Roy (31) shared a steady 63-run fifth-wicket partnership to take the team total to 100 before Borkataky dismissed Roy. The rest of the Bengal team fell like a pack of cards. Singh was Borkataky’s second wicket. Borkataky conceded 30 runs off 13.4 overs, while skipper Bhattacharjee gave away 21 off 16 overs.

In their second innings, Assam lost the wickets of openers Dhritiman Gohain Dutta (16) and Tajuddin Ahmed (9) quite early but Bhattacharjee (27), Manoj Malo (30) and Jnan Boro stepped in with useful knocks.

At the draw of the stumps, Boro was batting on 40 with Harshavardhan Basumatary (4).

Allrounder Sambit Roy, who took six for 47 in the first innings, accounted for all five wickets that fell in the second. He conceded only 53 runs in his 27 overs.

Assam will surely look for an outright win by adding at least 50 more runs to their lead in the first two hours of the pre-lunch session tomorrow and then using their spin twins to rip apart the Bengal innings for the second time in two days.