It was a brilliant team effort from Bengal to see them tightening the grips in the Ranji Trophy match against Assam . Ashoke Dinda was the wrecker in chief for Bengal as he picked all the 4 wickets to fall for Assam . The hosts find themselves reeling at 1/4 . Bengal rode on the effort of Sreevats Goswami and Pankaj Shaw to pile up a huge first innings score of 444/6 declared . The left hander notched his maiden hundred in first class cricket as he remained not out on 112 , while Pankaj Shaw missed his ton by a whisker . Shaw was a touch unlucky to be given out plumbed off the bowling of Syed Mohammed for 99 runs .
Earlier Bengal started the day with an overnight score off 191/4 in 76 overs . There was huge disappointment for Bengal as seasoned campaigner Laxmi Ratan Shukla was out cheaply for 21 runs with the score at 216/5 . The all-rounder was making a comeback after being out with a injury sustained during the match against Karnataka . A lot was expected off him , as he himself will also feel disappointed with the effort . Pankaj Shaw came in after the fall of Shukla , and together with Sreevats put on a match winning partnership of 174 runs for the sixth wicket . Sreevats completely looked a different batsman as he checked all his flashy strokes and was quite determined to make it count . No sooner than later the left hander reached his maiden hundred in first class cricket . It took almost seven years for Sreevats to notch up his first ton . A completely relieved Sreevats later dedicated his first ton to his late grandfather ,“ I would like to dedicate my hundred to my late grandfather who have been a big influence in my life . I was under tremendous pressure to score as I was not contributing much with the bat . Before walking out to bat in the morning , I made up my mind to check all the flashy strokes which have led to my downfall on several occasions after getting a start . I was determined to dig it in and apply myself . I felt there was no demon in the wicket which have been the talking point before we arrived here . Nevertheless I feel a lot relaxed with my effort .”
On the other hand Pankaj Shaw was not to be left behind , as he missed his maiden ton in first class cricket by just one run . Shaw have been a revelation for Bengal this season as he have now scored 5 half centuries including his previous best of 61 runs against Haryana at Rohtak . Bengal were 390/6 at the fall of Shaw’s wicket . Young Aamir Gani joined Sreevats at the crease and was in an attacking frame of mind . He scored a quickfire 33 runs off 43 balls , before captain Manoj Tiwari declared the innings at 444/6 .
Chasing a huge score , Assam openers were under a lot of pressure to start with . It was a master stroke from Manoj to send the hosts to bat for a few minutes before the close of play . Ashoke Dinda gave Bengal an early breakthrough picking up the wicket of Pallav Kumar Das caught at slips by Abhimanyu off his very first delivery . Soon to follow was Assam captain Gokul Sharma who was caught behind to Sreevats . Assam were 0/2 after the end of the first over . Manoj brought in Amir Gani from the other end . It was Dinda again who gave a breakthrough for Bengal , getting rid off Rahul Hazarika plumbed for only 1 run . The fast bowler from Naichanpur then rattled the off stump of Arup Das off his fourth delivery in his second over . Dinda’s spell read 2-2-0-4 , which could prove to be a match winning one . It was for the second time in the match that bad light inflicted an early close in days play with still four overs to be bowled . At close on Day 2 Bengal find themselves in an extremely strong position with a lead off 443 runs .
Brief score : Bengal 444/6 declared . Shreevats Goswami 112* , Pankaj Shaw 99 , Sayan Sekhar Mondal 87 . Krishna Das 94/2 .
Assam 1/ 4 after 4 overs . Dinda 0/4