Bengal aim to extend winning streak against Maharashtra in Ranji Trophy tie at Eden Gardens

Bengal will seek to extend its winning run against Maharashtra in a Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata starting here on Monday, with in-form Shahbaz Ahmed and Mohammed Shami viewed as key for the hosts.

Backed by an early surge, table-topping Bengal returns to the Eden Gardens for the first time this season after three outright wins and sits on 18 points ahead of this fourth match of the season; Maharashtra occupy second place with 12 points earned from a six-pointer and two first-innings leads.

Bengal’s batting has recent contributions from Sudip Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed — who struck a century in the previous match — and Abishek Porel, while captain Abhimanyu Easwaran and his new opening partner Ankur Paul are looking to turn starts into big scores; Sudip Chatterjee and Sumanta Gupta have provided additional experience and useful runs.

The hosts are likely to deploy a three pacer-two spinner combination with Mohammed Shami leading the pace attack; Bengal’s spinning options include Shahbaz, noted for his all-round skills since his return against Services, and Pradipta Pramanik, who captured 10 wickets against Kerala.

Maharashtra’s batting has leaned on Ankit Bawne, who has scored two centuries, and Digvijay Patil, with Harshad Kate and Saurabh Nawale posting half-centuries in a drawn game with Gujarat; captain Prithvi Shaw has a score of 70 to his name in the campaign so far.

The visitors’ bowling corps has been bolstered by pacers Pradeep Dadhe and Rajyavardhan Hangrekar alongside spinners Vicky Otswal and Siddhesh Veer, players the report says have served Maharashtra well in the competition.

On a sporting pitch with a lush green outfield, both sides will be aiming to secure maximum points from this crucial contest before the break, although the forecast of rain poses a mild threat to play.