Bengal took a huge step forward towards a spot in the knockouts of Ranji Trophy. The hosts today defeated Odisha by 133 runs to top Group A . In pursuit of Bengal’s target of 170 on day two at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani , Odisha were bundled out for 37 runs . Out of favour Indian pacer Ashok Dinda bowled a lethal spell to rattle the Odisha batting . He picked 7 wickets for 19 runs .
Bengal, who began the day on 23/0 in their second innings, started briskly but collapsed from 101/2 to 135 all out. But the target of 171 was more than enough as the visitors collapsed for their second-lowest total in Ranji history.
Bengal on winning the toss yesterday decided to bat first and captain Manoj Tiwary’s decision backfired as the hosts lost their first wicket in the second over. By the time Tiwary was out, Bengal was reeling at 21/3. While wickets kept tumbling one after another ,Bengal’s opener Abhimanyu Easwaran looked to be batting on a different pitch , as he applied himself . Although Shreevats Goswami and Aamir Gani provided him with some support, it didn’t last for too long.
At 96/9 it looked Bengal might struggle to get past 100. But young Easwaran anchored the innings beautifully and got the score up to 142, before he was dismissed for 88 .
Left-arm spinner Dhiraj Singh was the pick of the bowlers for the visitors, as he finished with figures of 58/5. Unfortunately, Odisha batsmen didn’t make the most of the advantage as they too were bundled out for 107 runs before the end of day one.
In the second innings three of Bengal’s top three got starts, none of them converted into a substantial total . Experienced Basant Mohanty’s was the wrecker in chief as he picked a five-wicket haul. But Odisha’s batsmen faltered in the second innings too . Out of favor Indian pacer Ashok Dinda was the wrecker in chief for Bengal in second innings, as he finished with figures of 7/19, to become the fourth different bowler to take a five-wicket haul in the match and helped his side go top of Group A with 26 points.
While pitches that suit spinners aren’t uncommon, especially in the Ranji Trophy, what was surprising about this match was that the two five-wicket hauls taken on the second day was by seam bowlers, whereas the two on day one was by spinners.
Given it is unlikely that this pitch was a rank turner on day one and a green seamer on day two, the finger must be pointed at the batsmen. For no one, barring Easwaran, who scored just 17 fewer than Odisha did in both their innings combined, had the patience or technique to stay for the long haul.
Brief scores : Bengal – 142 runs (Easwaran 88, Dhiraj 5-58) and 135 runs (Easwaran 39, Mohanty 5-16) beat Odisha – 107 runs (Gani 6-34) and 37 all out (Dinda 7-19) by 133 runs .