Assam''s strong reply to Bengal in Ranji clash

Fri, Nov 19 10 08:08 PM

Kolkata, Nov 19 (PTI) Bengal found themselves at the receiving end with Assam giving the hosts a brave reply on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy Super League Group A match at Eden Gardens here today. In reply to Bengal''s mammoth 562/6, Assam rode on half-centuries by Sridharan Sriram, Sibsankar Roy and Dhiraj Jadhav as the visitors finished the day with 293/3. Veteran Sriram, who has eight ODIs experience, held the fort with an unbeaten 89 and crafted 126 runs for the 3rd wicket with skipper Amol Muzumdar who missed a 50 by six runs. Debutant medium-pacer Sami Ahmed, who was down with fever last night, claimed all the three wickets as Bengal were hit hard by his sickness that permitted him only 11 overs. Resuming at 10 for no loss, Assam capitalised on the weak Bengal pace attack in absence of Ahmed in the morning as openers Roy (89; 151 balls, 18x4) and Jadhav (62; 165 balls, 6x4) laid the foundation with a 150-run opening parntership. As Sami could not take the field in the morning session, Bengal opened their attack with Ranadeb Bose and all-round Laxmi Ratan Shukla who found the going tough with little assistance from the flat strip. With both the left-hand openers Roy and Jadhav looking good Assam were 114 for no loss at lunch. Sami, who debuted in absence of Ashok Dinda (fever), came into action in the 46th over and gave Bengal a reason to cheer taking the scalp of Roy in his second over. He castled Jadhav to cap a perfect first spell with figures of 7-2-37-2 before again going off the field. With veterans Sriram and Muzumdar at the crease, it was time for Assam to bat the day out as the duo put on a defiant stand to frustrate Bengal. Towards the close, Sami returned to action and gave another breakthrough in the form of Muzumdar who misjudged the line only to see his off-stump crashed. Sriram said their effort would give Bengal sleepless nights. "We made a conscious effort to not look at the scoreboard. We have to bat out another day," Sriram said. Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary was also absent (fever) for the second day and Wriddhiman Saha led the side. But, the team think-tank said they are hopeful to get the services of Tiwary for the final day tomorrow. Incidentally, three other Bengal players -- Dinda, Arindam Ghosh (both fever) and Rohan Banerjee (ligament injury) -- were indisposed before the start of the match. Brief Scores: Bengal: 562/6 declared in 167 overs (L R Shukla 250, W Saha 178). Assam 293/3 in 88 overs (S Sriram 89 batting, S Roy 89, Dhiraj Jadhav 62; Sami Ahmed 3/57).

Source: Published>