Internet Desk: A brilliant opening partnership from Koushik Ghosh (114) and Abhishek Raman (94) placed Bengal in a strong position after Day 1 in their Ranji Trophy group league clash against Chhattisgarh. The openers put 159 runs for the first wicket in 53.1 overs after Chattisgarh decided to field first. Koushik Ghosh, playing in his second Ranji Trophy match scored his maiden first class ton in 201 balls. At stumps Bengal are 283/2 with captain Manoj Tiwary not out on 14 runs along with Sudip Chatterjee batting on 58*.
Koushik made full use of the opportunity as he replaced Abhimanyu Easwaran who has been included in the India A team to play against New Zealand. The opener took 201 balls to reach the three figure mark. His 114 runs knock included 11 boundaries. Other opener Abhishek Raman just fell short by 6 runs to reach his ton. His 94 runs innings had 13 hits to the fence. He was the first batsman to depart, giving a catch to AN Khare off the bowling of SA Singh. Koushik and Sudip steadied the innings as they added 98 runs for the second wicket. Ghosh was short off his crease after a terrible mix up with Sudip. Bengal was 257/2 at that stage. Captain Manoj Tiwary and Sudip ensured there were no more damages as Bengal finds them in a strong position.
Koushik was playing a Ranji Trophy match after almost a gap of two years. He last played in the semi-finals against Maharashtra two years back.
“Plan was to not lose a wicket before lunch. The wicket was a bit dump in the morning. Manojda (Tiwary) told me to play my natural game and play according to the situation,” said Kaushik from Raipur.
On being asked about the mix-up with Sudip, Koushik said, “It was my call as I thought there was three runs. It was a error in judgement for a fraction of a second.”
The game was a special one for both the sides. While it was the 100th first class match for both Manoj Tiwary and Ashoke Dinda, it was also the first home Ranji Trophy game for the Chhattisgarh. Both Manoj and Dinda were felicitated before the start of play by CAB secretary Avishek Dalmiya. They were presented a plaque and a bouquet for achieving the milestone of 100 first class matches.
According to Avishek, “Many congratulations to Manoj and Dinda. 100 mark is a significant one in this game. And 100 matches shows the enormous commitment put in by these stalwarts. Moreover, the very fact that they are on top form further shows they are ready for return and are knocking the doors of the Indian Team.”
For the record, Ashoke Dinda was awarded the best fast bowler and Manoj was declared as the cricketer of the year for the last cricket season by CAB.