Laxmi Ratan Shukla in full flow against Jharkhand at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: An all-round show by captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla helped Bengal beat Jharkhand by 90 runs in the opening tie of the East Zone National one-dayers at the Eden on Sunday.

Shukla hit a brilliant 82 before picking up two wickets to help the hosts bundle out their opponents for a paltry 151 with nine overs to spare. The visitors were chasing a target of 242.

Shukla later said he had luck on his side. “Obviously it was a lucky day for me… I was dropped at 27 but that’s part and parcel of the game. It was my day,” the Bengal skipper remarked. “I tried to be disciplined in everything I did and that helped me a lot. I bowled stump to stump… I maintained a tight line and length.”

Asked to reveal the secret of their success, Shukla said: “Everybody contributed. I think everybody knows his responsibility. That’s the secret.”

“Sourav Ganguly’s presence, as always, was of great importance. Dadi’s advice on my batting stance helped me particularly,” Shukla added.

He did not sound worried about Sourav’s cheap dismissal.

“Dadi was playing a one-dayer after a long time. He will definitely get a big score,” he said.

Earlier, the hosts, put in to bat by Jharkhand, managed a respectable 241 after a shaky start on a Sunday morning. Wriddhiman Saha (44) missed a well deserved half-century while his opening partner Abhishek Banerjee fell to Kuldeep Sharma in the sixth over.

Sourav Ganguly, who came in to bat at No.3, looked in good touch in his 22-minute stay but could not capitalise on the good start. The southpaw hit four boundaries, including two splendid straight drives in his 20-ball 17, before nicking Kuldeep to wicketkeeper Subrato Ghosh while going for an ambitious shot. That reduced Bengal to three for 91 in 18.3 overs.

Wriddhiman looked solid and treated the mediocre Jharkhand bowling with disdain. But after hitting seven boundaries and one six, Saha threw his wicket. He pulled Rahul Shukla to Rameez Nemat at mid-wicket.

Jharkhand bowlers failed to maintain their dominance, thanks to below-par fielding by S.S. Rao and Co. The hosts, who were reeling at 144 for four, regrouped through Manoj Tiwary and captain Shukla.

They notched up a 51-run fifth-wicket partnership and steadied Bengal’s ship. But at 195, Keshav Kumar caught Tiwary off his own bowling.

Sloppy fielding hurt Jharkhand badly. Captain Rao dropped Shukla at 27. Besides, a couple of overthrows gave Bengal a few bonus runs.

Shukla, after Tiwary’s departure, added another 25 runs with Dibyendu Chakraborty. Tiwary fell to a Kuldeep delivery when Manoj Singh caught him at short fine leg.

Jharkhand, in reply, lost opener Manish Vardhan in the second over of the innings. Ashok Dinda struck in the very first over when Vardhan edged him to Abhishek Banerjee at first slip. Rameez Nemat fell to Ranadeb Bose in the ninth over of the match.

Ishank Jaggi and India under-19 star Saurabh Tiwary added 60 runs for the second wicket. While Saurabh smashed six boundaries, Jaggi supported him well. Their partnership was cut short when Shukla first broke through Jaggi’s defence uprooting his stumps, and then removed Tiwary in his next over. After the duo left, Jharkhand could not form a steady partnership.

Iresh Saxena and Avishek Chowdhury also bagged two wickets apiece to bundle out Jharkhand 90 runs short of the target.