Internet Desk: Captain Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee shared an unbeaten partnership of 142 runs to lead Bengal’s fight back on Day 2 against champions Mumbai at Nagpur. Bengal, after bowling out Mumbai for 229 runs are 198/3 at stumps. Manoj is batting on 85 runs while Sudip is unbeaten on 67. Ashoke Dinda was the most successful bowler for Bengal with 5/88.
Talking about the situation of the match, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary told xtratime.in ,“We still have a long way to go. All we need to do is to build on the partnership. Our target will be to bat at least two sessions in order to set them a stiff target.”
The wicket at Civil Lines seems to offer some turn and grip. Any substantial lead by Bengal will make the match interesting. According to Manoj, “The wicket is offering some grip which I think will help Pragyan. If we can manage to put on a substantial total, we can give our bowlers a chance to go for the kill.”
Resuming on the overnight total of 164 for 5, the reigning champions just managed to add only 65 runs, to get bowled out for 229 runs this morning in 58 overs.
Ashoke Dinda made full use of the conditions at Civil Lines in Nagpur to restrict the Mumbai batsman to stretch their innings. Dinda got good support from Mukesh Kumar who returned with 3/56. Amit Kuila chipped in with 2 wickets as well.
Asked to comment about Dinda, Manoj said, “He looks to be in good rhythm. I am very happy for him. I wish he gets a five for in the second innings as well and help us getting a much deserved win.”
Trailing by 130 runs, Bengal made a disastrous start in their second innings as well. It was yet another failure for Abhimanyu Easwaran as he just managed to score 5 runs. Sayan Sekhar Mondal too failed with the bat as he was snapped up by Dhawal Kulkarni after giving an edge to Aditya Tare. Bengal was reduced to 17/2 at one stage.
Young debutant Abhishek Raman and Sudip Chatterjee did show some promise as they took the score to 56/3, before Raman ran himself out after scoring 29 runs. It was a terrible mix up in the middle between the youngster and Sudip.
As it looked like Bengal approaching another batting collapse, captain Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee stood tall and confronted the Mumbai challenge. They have so far added 142 runs for the fourth wicket to take the score to 198/3 at stumps on Day 2. Bengal leads by 68 runs with 7 wickets in hand.
Manoj is batting on 85 runs while Sudip is 67 not out. The Bengal captain played a long handle as his 123 ball innings included 11 fours and a six.
The Bengal captain seems to have a liking for Mumbai as he has always done well in the past. Commenting on his knock, Manoj said, “ I have always enjoyed batting against big teams and Mumbai to me is one of the best teams in the country. They are the reigning champions as well. Somehow my best comes against the bigger opponents. Touchwood I have always done well against Mumbai.”
Lastly, Manoj defended his batsmen for the failure in the first innings.
“The wicket was damp. Credit should also go to the Mumbai bowlers as they bowled in the right areas. Also some of our batsmen were dismissed to some great deliveries,” said Manoj to xtratime.in