Wriddhiman Saha (left) and Laxmi Ratan Shukla, at the Eden, on Wednesday. A Telegraph picture

Calcutta: Laxmi Ratan Shukla (75) along with Wriddhiman Saha (60) forged an unbeaten 131-run partnership to rescue Bengal after an initial collapse on the first day of their Ranji match here Wednesday. Sent in to bat, Bengal played like amateurs to finish at 257 for 5 at stumps.

In a repeat show of their poor batting performance, Bengal openers failed to utilise the time on the crease and looked to choke against some pinpoint bowling assisted by good fielding. Arindam Das (30) got the start, but failed to build on it unfortunately.

After skipper Manoj Tiwary departed, the hosts looked in trouble, but Laxmi Ratan Shukla turned the tide with a brilliant knock in Bengal’s favour. The all-rounder cracked 13 boundaries en route to his 75 (batting) in company of Wriddhiman Saha who hit six fours to score an unbeaten 60.

Losing the toss could have proven costly for Tiwary, though, this time, the visitors chose to bowl that set a total for Bengal. It was expected that the Bengal batters would make amends from their last outing and would set about piling the runs proficiently. But Assam had their plan chalked out. The visitors had expressed their satisfaction with the tinge of grass on the Eden Gardens wicket and bowled to a plan on Wednesday.

Assam’s pace battery, comprising Abu Nachim Ahmed, Ranjeet Mali and Dhiraj Goswami, bowled brilliantly to engineer a Bengal collapse. Mali was the first to strike when he removed opener Sreevats Goswami (12). The southpaw was caught at mid-on by Dhiraj Goswami.

After surviving a dropped catch, Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (1), who was drafted in at the last minute in place of Rohan Banerjee, was caught behind off a Dhiraj Goswami delivery. Banerjee, it was later learnt, had torn the ligament of his right ankle on Wednesday morning, and had been advised to rest for at least 20 days.

No doubt, Jhunjhunwala blew a wonderful opportunity to make a comeback by scoring a single from 40 balls.

Arindam Das, who started Ranji this season with a smashing 156 against Delhi, failed to live up to the expectations. He was caught behind while trying to negotiate an Ahmed delivery. Tiwary with Writam Porel added 56 runs for the fourth wicket to somewhat stabilise the team’s position. But the Bengal captain’s stay was short-lived and he succumbed to Mali in the 44th over. But that was not before scoring a half-century.

Porel, who scored 71 against Mumbai in the last match, gave in to spinner Arlen Konwar’s tricks and was bowled for just 12 runs. Wicketkeeper Saha stepped up the home team’s efforts thereafter. Saha and Shukla displayed some superb on-field chemistry as they pounded Assam bowling to get an upperhand in the day’s proceedings. The right-handed batsman, who became Bengal’s panacea playing his 100th first class match, secured the admiration of both sides.

“His (Laxmi Ratan Shukla’s) consistency, commitment and his sense of responsibility is very evident the way he played today,” Assam skipper Amol Muzumdar said after the day’s play. Muzumdar had nullified the importance of the toss on the eve of the match and Wednesday’s performance showed that the visitor’s had their homework done against Bengal. Their plans seemed to work well till Shukla dug in to prop the Bengal innings. Apart from Konwar, the spinners failed to get any turn from the Eden wicket. “There isn’t any help for spinners on this track,” Muzumdar said.

Muzumdar appeared disappointed as the umpires called the day off two overs ahead of the targeted 90 overs. “We do not have a say in it. As per the new rules, umpires can call stumps at their discretion, without consulting the teams.”

However, he still believes nothing is lost. “The match is evenly poised,” the Assam captain said. “I don’t think the wicket will deteriorate. It was overall a good day.”

Meanwhile, Shami Ahmed has replaced Ashok Dinda for Bengal, as the latter is still down with fever. Bengal have also added all-rounder Sayan Shekhar Mondal as standby.