Bengal assume full control in Bengaluru in Ranji Trophy clash

Bengaluru: In the first two games of this season, Karnataka had inclement weather to blame as they were denied time to gather crucial points. Against Bihar in the third match, which was also affected by rain and bad light, they were enterprising enough to grab six points for a win in the available time. But let's be honest, it's Bihar who have one point after three matches.

In the fourth match against Bengal, not a minute of regulation time was lost to elements and they have to blame only themselves for the position they are in now.

At stumps on extended third day of their Group C clash, Karnataka were all but out for the count as Bengal sat on a big 207-run lead after finishing their second innings at 127/3 here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday. Sudip Kumar Gharami (25) and Shahbaz Ahmed (11) were keeping vigil at the wicket after Sudip Chatterjee (48) provided a sound start. 

The hosts, overnight 155/5, were bowled out for 221 in 82.1 overs, handing the visitors more than a handy 80-run lead. Barring a miracle, the best case scenario for Karnataka is to save the match and accrue a point.

That Karnataka managed a 220-plus total was down to the 40-run partnership for the 10th wicket between Vidyadhar Patil (33) and V Koushik (11) who put their specialist batters to shame with the application required on this pitch which is a tribute to curator K Sri Ram. Even on the third day, the surface, with good carry and bounce, kept the pacers from both sides interested with the faster variety from either side claiming all the eight wickets to fall on the day. Of the 23 wickets to have fallen in the match, the pacers have accounted for 19 of them. 

While the pacers were rewarded for their hard work on a responsive wicket, the batters could get big runs as well if they put their head down and played like Anustup Majumdar showed on the opening day and Patil and Koushik reiterated in the morning on the third day. It wasn't the usual case of tailenders using the long handle and gathering some quick runs; between them the Karnataka duo faced 110 balls which is 45 balls more than the quartet of Kishan Bedare, Suraj Sateri, Smaran R and Manish Pandey combined lasted. 

A lot hinged on the overnight duo of Abhinav Manohar (55) and Shreyas Gopal (28) after a top-order collapse and the two appeared determined to accomplish the task for Karnataka as they kept Bengal bowlers at bay almost the length of the opening hour. But in their bid to not lose early wickets, they perhaps remained in the shell for far too long.

While Shreyas is known to play the waiting game, it doesn't come naturally to Abhinav. He had laboured to a 30-ball 5 when the hard-hitting right-hander edged one behind the wickets, though he didn't seem happy with the decision. A while before he had seen Shreyas depart in a similar fashion. Hardik Raj then was run out before Patil and Koushik combined to give the total some respectability.

Armed with a big cushion, Bengal batters played without any pressure and batted themselves into a strong position from where they could eye victory.

SCORE BOARD BENGAL (I Innings): 301 all out KARNATAKA (I Innings; O/n: 155/5): Mayank Agarwal b Jaiswal 17 (78b 119m 1x4) Kishan Bedare c Shahbaz b Porel 23 (50b 71m 3x4) Sujay Sateri c Saha b Vivek 2 (5b 30m) Smaran R c Chatterjee b Jaiswal 26 (35b 54m 4x4) Pandey c Dey b Vivek 0 (2b 2m) Abhinav Manohar c Saha b Porel 55 (103b 173m 6x4 1x6) Shreyas Gopal c Saha b Porel 28 (63b 113m 2x4) Hardik Raj (run out) 11 (9b 43m 1x4) Vidyadhar Patil b Jaiswal 33 (61b 93m 3x4 1x6) Koushik V lbw Porel 11 (56b 80m 1x4) Abhilash Shetty (not out) 0 (3b 3m). Extras (LB-6 W-1) 7. TOTAL (all out 82.1 overs) 221 Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Bedare) 2-52 (Sateri) 3-62 (Agarwal) 4-62 (Pandey) 5-97 (Smaran) 6-162 (Shreyas) 7-171 (Abhinav) 8-181 (Hardik) 9-221 (Patil).      

Bowling: Ishan Porel 23.1-5-55-4 (w-1) Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 25.2-4-64-3 Rishabh Vivek 16.4-3-46-2 Shahbaz Ahmed 9-0-23-0 Avlin Ghosh 3-1-9-0 Aamir Ghani 5-1-18-0. BENGAL (II Innings): Shuvam Dey c Sateri b Shetty 30 (72b 120m 3x4) Sudip Chatterjee c Sateri b Koushik 48 (85b 169m 7x4) Sudip Kumar Gharami (batting) 25 (72b 4x4) Anustup Majumdar b Patil 5 (10b 16m 1x4) Shahbaz Ahmed (batting) 12 (27b 1x4). Extras (LB-5 NB-2) 7. TOTAL (for 3 wkts 43 overs) 127. Fall of wickets: 1-69 (Dey) 2-97 (Chatterjee) 3-106 (Majumdar).          

Bowling: Koushik V 14-5-24-1 (nb-1) Abhilash Shetty 13-1-44-1 (nb-1) Vidyadhar Patil 12-2-35-1 Shreyas Gopal 3-1-11-0 Hardik Raj 2-0-9-0. Other Elite Group C (brief scores): At Patna: Madhya Pradesh: 616 all out vs Bihar (O/n: 131/4): 331/8 in 130.5 overs (Piyush Singh 37 Babul Kumar 47 Bipin Saurabh 71 Ayush Loharuka 76 Sharman Nigrodh 42 Sachin Kumar 34; Aryan Pandey 2-37 Kumar Kartikeya 2-85 Saransh Jain 3-107). At Rohtak: Haryana: 114 all out and 243 all out bt Punjab: 141 all out and 179 all out in 39.4 overs (Salil Arora 57 Nehal Wadhera 33; Jayant Yadav 3-35 Nishant Sindhu 5-56). Points: Haryana: 5; Punjab: 0. At Thumba: Uttar Pradesh: 162 all out and 66/2 in 18 overs (Madhav Kaushik 27) vs Kerala (O/n: 340/7): 395 all out in 124.21 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 28 Baba Aparajith 32 Sachin Baby 83 Salman Nizar 93 Jalaj Saxena 35 Mohammed Azharuddeen 40; Shivam Mavi 2-75 Saurabh Kumar 2-84 Aaqib Khan 3-61 Shivam Sharma 2-77).