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[caption id="attachment_6225" align="alignnone" width="580"] Bengal will be banking on two senior pros Manoj Tiwary and Pragyan Ojha. File Pic.[/caption] Kolkata: Last year’s quarter finalists Bengal will begin their Ranji Trophy campaign against Uttar Pradesh at Swai Maan Singh Stadium in Jaipur on October 13. UP did not have the greatest of starts to the season as they lost to Madhya Pradesh by 64 runs in their first match. With Wriddhiman Saha and Mohammed Shami unavailable due to national commitments, Bengal will be banking on seasoned campaigners like Manoj Tiwary, Pragyan Ojha and Ashoke Dinda. The last year’s quarter finalists will have some talented cricketers in Sudip Chatterjee, Abhimanyu Easwaran , Aamir Gani and Veer Pratap Singh. Rookie fast bowler Ishan Porel will be missing the tie owing to a side strain. Uttar Pradesh on the other hand will be plagued by the absence of Suresh Raina and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who will be on national duty taking part in the ODI series against New Zealand. Experienced pro Praveen Kumar is also doubtful for tomorrow’s match. But even then the bowling unit looks potent with Ankit Rajpoot, Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav. All three of them play for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL. Bengal Skipper Manoj Tewari, however, sounded at home with the idea of playing Ranji fixture on neutral venue. "The wicket looks good. It is a green top. Let's see if they cut some grass off it or not tomorrow. But irrespective of the wicket the boys can't wait to get on with the match. They are ready. They have worked very hard and it is time to show it where it matters," feel Manoj. The wicket at Swai Maan Singh stadium has some grass cover on it which means there will be some help for the seamers initially. Bengal coach Sairaj Bahutule feel, "The wicket is a true one. There is some grass on the wicket. But the ball will come on to the bat and it will be a free scoring wicket. The last match here against Australia was a high scoring one. The team has prepared very well. The KSCA trophy was a great motivator. The boys need to go out and deliver." Talking about the team combination, Manoj said, "We have not decided on the final XI yet. But we are a well balanced side, the boys are in good touch both with bat and ball. We will pick the playing eleven tomorrow." About the opposition, Tiwary  commented, "They are a very good side. They have some quality players. But we are also well prepared and if play to our abilities we are a tough side to beat." Bengal coach Bahutule is also confident of his boys putting up a good show against UP. According to Bahutule, “We are not thinking about who our opponents are. We are ready and all geared up to do well in our first match. The youngsters in the team are excited to make a mark in the Ranji season.” Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary will have a thing or two to prove. The middle order batsman did not find favour with the selectors as he was not picked in the Duleep Trophy squad. Manoj had a decent season with the bat scoring almost 650 runs that included two centuries. His century against Madhya Pradesh in the semis was for a losing cause. Coach Bahutule reckons Manoj will have his bat do the talking for Bengal this season. “He is one of the top batsmen in the country. He should have been in the squad for Duleep Trophy. He would prove his detractors wrong this season. As a captain he is willing to make a mark.” Bengal will also look up to Sudip Chatterjee who had an outstanding last season. The left hander scored 735 runs in 9 matches. He scored 4 centuries last season. Bengal has been placed in Group A alongside Mumbai, Punjab, Railways, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Baroda, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Bengal (Likely) : Abhimanyu Iswaran, Sayan Sekhar Mondal, Sudip Chatterjee, Manoj Tiwary, Pankaj Shaw, Sreevats Goswami, Aamir Gani, Ayan Bhattacharya, Pragyan Ojha, Veer Pratap Singh & Ashoke Dinda