Calcutta/ Dharamsala: Bengal seamers led by Ashok Dinda brought their team back in the match by making dents into the Railways top-order after being bowled out for 205 in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy group A match on Thursday.
Dinda (2/17) bowled unchanged for eight overs and was supported well by Amit Kuila (1/8) and Sayan Ghosh (1/12) as they reduced Railways to 37 for 4 in seamer-friendly conditions at the HPCA Stadium. For the record, last match's hero Pragyan Ojha was ruled out with a stiff neck just before the match. Amir Gani came in as his replacement.
Left-handed opener Saurabh Wakaskar (4) got a boundary off Dinda's first delivery and the very next one saw the speedster take a return catch.
Former Baroda player Mrunal Devdhar (17) was the next to go as he lobbed one to Pankaj Shaw to give Dinda his second wicket.
While opener Shivakant Shukla (8 batting) doggedly defended at one end, he saw Vasaimudi Cheluvuraj edge a Sayan outswinger to Wriddhiman Saha behind the stumps.
Arindam Ghosh (4), who is going through a wretched run was castled by Kuila as Railways still need 169 runs to get a first-innings lead.
It will all depend on how well 'keeper-batsman Mahesh Rawat, whose attacking batting can take the game away in one session, performs on the second day. "Our target will be to dismiss them as early as possible on Friday... And then put on a good score," Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary said from Dharmsala.
Earlier, Karn Sharma called correctly at the toss and put Bengal into bat. Abhimanyu Easwaran (8) hit a couple of boundaries but was snapped by Rawat behind the stumps off Anureet Singh's (4/66) bowling.
It was left-handed Sudip Chatterjee (85, 11x4), whose 158-ball knock was the saving grace in an otherwise inept batting show on a track that aided seamers.
Chatterjee should, however, be blamed as he has now failed to convert three half-centuries in three matches into three-figure mark. After 73 against UP and 51 against Punjab, the stylish left-hander yet again did all the hard work before he was undone by a slower from Anureet.
The only significant partnership that Chatterjee had was a 66-run stand for the fifth wicket with Agniv Pan (27). "On a pitch like this you need to curb your aggression. I treated each ball on its merit," Chatterjee said.
This was after Bengal were reeling at 62 for 4 with both Manoj Tiwary (0) and Wriddhiman Saha (0) back in the pavilion in quick succession.
Both were guilty of lack of footwork to away going deliveries from former UP medium pacer Amit Mishra. Mishra had figures of 3/38 in 17 overs. "The wicket has grass and bounce. Fourteen wickets fell on the first day so that gives a clear indication which way the match is going. Overall I am happy with the team's performance," Manoj said.
Manoj heaped praise on Sudip. " He batted well on a difficult pitch. Bad luck that he didn't get a hundred. He deserved this one," he added
Bengal crossed 200-run mark thanks to some lusty blows by Dinda, whose 30 off 26 balls included five boundaries. "When I walked in I thought of playing my natural game. It clicked today," Dinda said.
And what about his two wickets? "I do not see myself as the main bowler. But yes as the senior member of the team I have a responsibility. I am happy that I got two wickets today. Hopefully I will get some more on Friday," Dinda signed off.
