Calcutta: A career-best 182 by Sanjay Ramaswamy put Vidarbha in a commanding position in their Ranji Trophy Group D fixture against Bengal, at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground in Kalyani, on Friday.
Bengal were wobbling in reply to Vidarbha’s 499, reaching 89 for three at stumps on Day II, with skipper Manoj Tiwary (36 batting) and Koushik Ghosh (1 batting) at the crease. The hosts are still 260 runs shy of avoiding a follow-on.
Vidarbha once again dominated the day, but they had a scare when middle-order batsman Aditya Sarwate suffered a head injury.
Sarwate was batting on 60 when Bengal debutant Ishan Porel’s rising delivery struck the former’s helmet.
The 27-year-old batsman had a concussion for a short while. He left the field immediately, but was back later on, going on to score 89 off 93 balls. Interestingly, it was Porel who got his wicket, as the latter nicked one to Wriddhiman Saha.
Porel finished with 4/139, while Ashok Dinda got three wickets.
After the day’s play, team sources claimed Sarwate was fine and there was nothing to be worried about.
Bengal, however, have a lot to worry. On Friday, Abhimanyu Easwaran was out for nought off the fourth ball of their first innings, while Abhishek Raman (27) and Sudip Chatterjee (15) too didn’t last for long.
If Bengal have to crawl out of the crisis, Manoj and Saha will have to play the lead role.
While Vidarbha are confident they can get the first-innings lead, Bengal too haven’t given up.
“There’s not much help for the bowlers from the wicket, but we have faith in our bowlers.
“We will have to stick to our plans and we need Manoj’s wicket early on Saturday,” Vidarbha’s Ramaswamy said after the day’s play.
Bengal’s Porel, on the other hand, said: “I believe the third-day wicket in Kalyani will remain helpful for batsmen.
“We have to take it session by session, and nothing is impossible.”
About his own performance, the youngster said: “Well, I was a bit nervous on Day I since I was making my debut. But the captain and coach helped me out, and I bowled better today.”
