Calcutta: India were inches - three wickets, to be precise - away from victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka, at the Eden, when bad light came in the way.

The fast bowlers were architects of that dominating India show, but it was the greenish Eden pitch which was the real protagonist of an eventful Test match.

Now, chances are that Bengal will make use of a similar wicket to collect crucial points from the Ranji Trophy match against Goa.

The Manoj Tiwary-led side need three points (through a first-innings lead) to confirm that, whatever may be the results of other matches, Bengal will progress to the quarters as the second team from Group D.

Coach Sairaj Bahutule, who returned from Amritsar with the team on Tuesday evening, hinted that they would like seamer-friendly wicket for the Goa match at the Eden.

Praising the Test match pitch, he said: "The wicket used for the Test match was a very rare one in India. A fantastic one. It had bounce and helped the seamers... It was a true wicket too as the batsmen got runs."

Asked if he would like a similarly green pitch for the Ranji match, Bahutule said: "Yes, we would like to have the advantage of playing at home... We have good fast-bowlers too.

"But we have to make sure it is a good pitch... Looking at how things are in the points table at the moment, it shouldn't be anything which is over the top," Bahutule, sounding a bit cautious, said.

While Bengal registered an innings victory against Punjab, there was pressure on the team when they had left for Amritsar following the crushing defeat at the hands of Vidarbha.

Bahutule doesn't mind pressure. "Pressure gets the best out of players. I don't consider Goa to be a weak team... You can't belittle any team in cricket. You have to respect oppositions."

The coach was all praise for the youngsters in the Bengal team.

"The youngsters, the U-19 and U-23 players, are making good progress... Not always can you include every young player in the team.

"That is why someone like Pradipta Pramanik couldn't be used in the earlier matches... But the young spinner has shown how capable he is. Same for Ishan Porel, he is getting better with every match," Bahutule said.

Talking about youngsters, Ishan was outstanding against Punjab taking five wickets in the second innings. The 19-year-old pacer is not losing focus though.

"I'm happy to have contributed to the team's victory. But I am not really over the moon, we still have to play well... The next match, against Goa, is very important," Ishan said at the airport.

It is, however, not certain if Ishan will be available for the Goa match. The youngster has been selected to play in the BCCI's U-19 Challenger Trophy. The Cricket Association of Bengal is trying to get the Board's nod to let Ishan play in the Ranji Trophy instead of the U-19 meet.