Mohammed Shami went wicket-less as Tripura threatened to take the first innings lead against Bengal following Hanuma Vihari’s century at close on the third day of their Ranji Trophy match in Agartala on Monday.

At stumps, Tripura were 273/7 with Vihari unbeaten on 121 and skipper Manisankar Murasingh batting on 42, the two having added 73 runs for the eighth wicket.

Bengal were bowled out for 336 in their first innings, and Tripura need only 63 runs to overhaul Bengal’s total on the final day.

Bengal were all out at the start of the day without the addition of any run, with Murasingh and Rana Dutta picking up three wickets each for the home team. Bikramkumar Das chipped in with 2/16 from six overs.

Tripura were off to a disastrous start in their first innings as they slipped to 35/4 and then 53/5, with medium pacer Mohammed Kaif inflicting maximum damage on the home team.

Kaif has figures of 4/53 in 19 overs.

However, former India batter Vihari came to his team’s rescue with a dogged hundred, which contained 17 fours and a six. With half of the side
back in the dressing room, Vihari began rebuilding the Tripura innings.

He first added 107 runs for the seventh wicket with Vijay Shankar (34) and then stitched an unbroken stand of 73 with Murasingh.

Shami, in his bid to make a comeback into the national team ahead of the home Test series against South Africa later this month, failed to take a wicket in his 19 overs while giving away 70 runs.

The fast bowler had been successful in the first two matches against Uttarakhand and Gujarat but couldn’t make much impact with the new or old ball despite bowling four spells.

Brief scores: Bengal 336 (Sudip Gharami 108, Habib Gandhi 95; Rana Dutta 3/76, Manisankar Murasingh 3/56). Tripura 273/7 (Hanuma Vihari 121 batting, Manisankar Murasingh 42 batting; Mohammed Kaif 4/53). At Stumps, Day 3.