Players Details
Fixture & Results
Easwaran (94), Manoj (50), Gharami (50)
help Bengal fight back against Odisha
26th January 2023
Abhimanyu Easwaran smashed a superb unbeaten 94 along with Manoj Tiwary (50 not out) and Sudip Kumar Gharami (50) as Bengal staged a superb comeback in their second innings after being asked to follow on against Odisha in their final Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash at the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
After being bowled out for 100 in their first innings, Bengal, following on, were 220/3 with Easwaran and skipper Tiwary unbeaten at stumps on Day 3 with a vital lead of 55 runs in their second innings.
Odisha, earlier, posted 265 in their first innings.
Resuming the day from overnight score of 39/2, Bengal added only two runs before nightwatchman Pritam Chakraborty (8) ran himself out.
The early dismissal opened the floodgates for the visitors as Sunil Kumar Roul got rid of Abhimanyu Easwaran (27) followed by skipper Manoj Tiwary (0) in successive deliveries to put Bengal in trouble at 58/5.
Suvankar Bal (17), Abishek Porel (18) and Akash Ghatak (10) all got off to fine starts but failed to take team to a respectable score.
Odisha bowlers, on the other hand, used the morning session perfectly, producing a fine display of seam bowling to claim wickets at regular intervals and bowl out the home side for just 100.
However, Anustup didn't come out to bat.
Roul (3-19), Suryakant Pradhan (3-45), Prayas Singh (1-11) and the veteran Basant Mohanty (1-23) impressed with the ball for Odisha.
Asked to follow on, Bengal lost opener Karan Lal (8) but Gharami and Easwaran combined well to add vital 82 runs for the second wicket.
While Gharami continued his rich form this season, Easwaran looked in sublime touch right through his innings.
Gharami was however unlucky to be judged leg before. Suvankar Bal (4) coming in also departed quickly.
From there on, Easwaran and Tiwary batted superbly, using their experience to gather an unbeaten 103-run partnership for the fourth wicket at the the end of the day.
CAB MEDIA DESK
Arindam Basu
