Sudip Chatterjee struck a successive fifty-plus score, while Abhimanyu Easwaran returned to form with an unbeaten half-century as the two openers put Bengal in the driver’s seat after a crucial first-innings lead on day 3 of their Ranji Trophy Group A clash against Uttar Pradesh here on Sunday. After Mukesh Kumar (4/43) and Shahbaz Ahmed (4/96) skittled out the home side for 292 to give a 19-run first innings lead, the opening duo capitalised on the momentum to strengthen their grip on the match. As bad light cut short the day’s play, Bengal were sitting comfortably at 141 for no loss in 36 overs, with an overall lead of 160 runs with the final day’s play remaining.
Abhimanyu, who was dismissed for a mere five runs in Bengal’s first innings, looked like a different player in his second knock.
The stylish right-hander, who had been in red-hot form with three back-to-back centuries in the Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, demonstrated his class once again, remaining unbeaten on 78 from 107 balls, hitting seven well-timed boundaries.
With his name doing rounds as a potential reserve opener for India’s much-anticipated tour of Australia, this innings came at an ideal time for Abhimanyu.
He played with patience and composure, after being granted a life when Nitish Rana dropped him on 32 at first slip of legspinner Vipraj Nigam.
Abhimanyu made the most of his reprieve, confidently dispatching loose deliveries on the flat Ekana track.
Chatterjee, who was the architect of Bengal’s first-innings total of 311 with a gritty 116, picked up where he left off, scoring an unbeaten 59 from 109 balls (5×4).
The left-hander displayed great resilience and technique, particularly under fading light conditions when he was struck on the helmet twice by rising deliveries from left-arm pacer Yash Dayal.
But he refused to be shaken and batted on with a smile and declined a concussion substitute before bad light stopped play.
Earlier in the day, Uttar Pradesh resumed their innings at 206/3, looking to overhaul Bengal’s total of 311 with Aryan Juyal sitting pretty on 90 in the company of another set batter Siddarth Yadav (20).
However, Bengal’s India pacer Mukesh Kumar bowled a fiery spell to trigger a collapse, as they lost seven wickets for just 94.
Mukesh was the star for Bengal, striking early when he trapped Juyal LBW for 92. In his very next over, Mukesh dismissed Akashdeep Nath for a duck, with Wriddhiman Saha taking a sharp catch at slip.
Saurabh Kumar was the next to fall, cleaned up by Mukesh for just 7, as UP’s batting order crumbled.
The only resistance came from Siddarth Yadav, who played a fighting knock of 73 off 127 balls.
Yadav launched a counter-attack, smashing three sixes and six boundaries to help UP cross the 250-mark and reduce Bengal’s first-innings lead.
He found support from Yash Dayal (16) and Ankit Rajpoot, building useful lower-order partnerships before being the last man to be dismissed.
Brief Scores In Lucknow: Bengal 311 and 141 for no loss; 36 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 78, Sudip Chatterjee 59). Uttar Pradesh 292; 89.4 overs (Aryan Juyal 92, Siddarth Yadav 73; Mukesh Kumar 4/43, Shahbaz Ahmed 4/96).
In Indore: Madhya Pradesh 425/8; 140 overs (Shubham Sharma 143 batting, Harpreet Singh 91, Saransh Jain 51; Vasuki Koushik 2/78, Vijaykumar Vyshak 2/83, Hardik Raj 2/79).
In Thumba: Punjab 194. Kerala 179; 70.4 overs (Mayank Markande 6/59, Gurnoor Brar 3/18).
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