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[caption id="attachment_25879" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Bengal beat Railways by 43 runs on Sunday at Dharamshala. File Pic[/caption] Kolkata: It’s been a great day for cricket fans across the border. While Musfiqur Rahim’s Bangladesh won an incredible test against England at Mirpur, thousands kilometers away in Dharamsala, Bengal notched up its second successive win in Ranji Trophy, getting past Railways by 43 runs.

Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary, always known to be straight forward has dedicated his team’s win over Railways to the jawans of Indian Army. In a rare gesture, Tiwary said to xtratime.in, “We would like to dedicate this win to the soldiers who are braving it out in the border to protect the country. It’s because of them we are safe. We must salute their sacrifices, leaving their families behind for the safeguard of our nation. The win today is also a Diwali gift for the fans back home who support us.”

Bengal has been a revelation so far this season as the team lead by Manoj Tiwary is yet to lose a point. The team has so far notched two successive wins against Punjab and Railways to head the points table in Group A with 15 points from 3 matches.

“We gained in confidence after our win against Punjab. We were always confident about doing well against Railways as they were not playing well this season so far. We grabbed the opportunity with both hands. All credit to my teammates who have responded well even after losing the toss. They did not drop their shoulders throughout the match and showed great mental strength,” said a satisfied Bengal captain.

On being asked about the key moments of the match, Manoj cited, “The innings played by Sudip in the first innings was very crucial as it helped us cross the 200 run mark in trying conditions on Day 1. The bowlers bowled well in both innings, specially Dinda has been outstanding. Then the partnership between me and Wriddhi also was important in the context of the match. The spells from Dinda and Kuila tilted the match in our favour.”

The notable aspect about this team is the change in mindset. All credit should go to coach Sairaj Bahutule who has been successful till now in instilling in the players a never say die attitude.

“Definitely the dressing room atmosphere has changed a lot from what it was a couple of seasons back. We are playing an aggressive brand of cricket and have stayed focused on the field. We are going out in the middle with a positive mindset. The best part is the juniors are being given the freedom to express themselves on the field without the fear of getting dropped. All credit goes to our Coach Sairaj Bahutule who has been successful in changing the mindset of the young players. He always backs the players even who are not in the playing eleven,” said Manoj.

Bengal find themselves sitting on top of points table in Group A with 15 points from 3 matches. Asked to comment on how many points they are looking at after the Group League, a confident Manoj said, “I am not thinking in those lines now. All we need to focus now is playing well in all the remaining matches. The last thing to happen is complacency creeping in the players which can dash our hopes of a Ranji win. Our target will be to qualify for the knockouts first.” Bengal speedster Ashoke Dinda joined an elite league on Sunday by being the second bowler from Bengal after Utpal Chatterjee to take 10 wickets against Railways. Former left arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee achieved this feat against Railways at Kanchenjunga Stadium in 2002-03 season. His spell in the match read 39.4-15-89-5 & 13.3-4-34-5. Dinda’s spell in this match shows 14-4-45-5 & 26.2-5-67-5.

Asked to comment on the incredible feat, Dinda to xtratime.in said, “It’s a huge achievement to be bracketed along with David da. (nickname of Utpal Chatterjee). He has been a legend for Bengal cricket. It’s an honour to see my name beside him.”

It was an incredible show of fast bowling by the Bengal medium pacer as he took all the five Railways wickets to fall. On his bowling today, Dinda said, “Manoj has taken the new ball yesterday which was only an over old. So, I knew if I keep the ball in place and bowl fast I will get rewarded. That is what happened. It took me only 45 minutes or so to get them all out.”

“The bowlers bowled well. Ashoke Dinda was exceptional. He used experience to read the wicket this morning and took the early advantage. We could have won the match early had the boys not dropped few catches. But they are playing well and will learn from the mistakes soon,” said Bengal Coach Sairaj Bahutule. Captain Manoj Tiwary heaped loads of praises on his bowling spearhead. According to Manoj, “He is a lion hearted bowler. He has been a match winner for Bengal and I am grateful I have him in my team. He is leading the bowling group and good to see him guiding the young fast bowlers in the team.”

Man of the moment Dinda himself feel, "I never come under pressure. I knew I had to deliver. I just bowled in the right areas as any other day. It was good I got success. The moisture in the wicket early morning helped a bit" He further added, “I am extremely happy today. It is this same Railways side we defeated at Eden Gardens and went through to the Ranji semi finals in 2013-14 season. Hopefully we can qualify for the semi-finals this season as well. We still have a long way to go.”