Porel half-century in vain as Bengal collapse to 143 on opening day at Eden Gardens
Abishek Porel top-scored with 54 as Bengal were dismissed for 143 by Maharashtra on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C match at Eden Gardens on Monday. Pradeep Dadhe and Tanay Sanghavi claimed three wickets each for Maharashtra.
Asked to bat, Bengal produced its lowest total of the season, 143, with several top-order dismissals leaving the hosts under pressure. Maharashtra pacers repeatedly tested the batters and the home side’s shot selection and application contributed to the collapse. Porel provided resistance in the middle order but partners kept failing to convert starts into sustained scoring.
Home captain Abhimanyu Easwaran was out chasing a wide delivery from Rajvardhan Hangargekar, with his opposite number Prithvi Shaw initially fumbling before Sachin Dhas completed the catch at first slip. Ankur Paul (1) and Suraj Jaiswal (0) fell cheaply, Sudip Chatterjee was adjudged lbw and Sudip Gharami was bowled, leaving Bengal at 72 for seven inside the first session.
Porel (54, 67b, 8x4) and Pradipta Pramanik (31, 43b, 5x4) added 66 for the eighth wicket to push Bengal past 100, with Porel striking drives through the off-side and straight down the ground to reach his first fifty of the season. Their stand was broken by off-spinner Siddhesh Veer.
Veer finished by dismissing both Porel and Pramanik before Sanghavi removed Mohammed Shami to close the innings shortly after lunch. Dadhe, Sanghavi, Hangargekar and Veer sustained pressure from one end, with Dadhe noted for hitting the right areas and testing the batters; Dadhe’s figures were 14-5-45-3.
In reply, Mohammed Shami struck in his fourth over, bowling Prithvi Shaw (12) and then trapping Digvijay Patil lbw off consecutive deliveries; Shami’s figures were 4-1-6-2. Maharashtra were 21 for two after eight overs, the fall of wickets recorded at 1-18 and 2-18. Bengal’s other bowlers returned: Ankur Jaiswal 2-0-9-0, Mohd. Kaif 1-0-5-0 and Shahbaz Ahmed 1-0-1-0.
Bengal — 1st innings: Abhimanyu Easwaran c Dhas b Hangargekar 10, Ankur Paul c Walunj b Dadhe 1, Sudip Gharami b Sanghavi 19, Suraj Jaiswal c Dhas b Dadhe 0, Sudip Chatterjee lbw b Sanghavi 7, Abishek Porel c Bawne b Veer 54, Shahbaz Ahmed c&b Hangargekar 0, Sumanta Gupta c Dhas b Dadhe 7, Pradipta Pramanik c Patil b Veer 31, Mohd. Shami c Nawale b Sanghavi 0, Mohd. Kaif (not out) 0; Extras (b-10, lb-2, nb-1, w-1): 14; Total (in 36.5 overs): 143. Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-18, 3-18, 4-37, 5-54, 6-59, 7-72, 8-138, 9-139.
Bad light, owing to an overcast sky, stopped play at 1.52 p.m. and the umpires drew stumps with Maharashtra 21 for two.
