Gharami scores hundred as Bengal reach 199 for 5 after Mukesh five-for

Kalyani (Nadia, WB), Feb 7 (PTI) Sudip Gharami finally displayed his true potential in a big game with an attritional century as Bengal reached 199 for 5 after an intriguing second day’s play in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Andhra. Andhra were bowled out for 295 in their first innings after starting the day at 264 for six with Mukesh Kumar (5/66) and Test specialist Akash Deep (4/79) polishing off the lower middle-order with an addition of 31 runs.

In reply, skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran’s saga of not being able to make a significant impact in the knock-out stages of the Ranji Trophy, continued as he made a solitary run before Nitish Kumar Reddy, in his third over, sent him back, caught by Sk Rasheed in the slip cordon.

Easwaran has never

crossed 20-run mark in a quarter, semi-final or final of the National championship, a reason he has never been considered good enough to be a part of the playing eleven.

However, it was Gharami (112 batting, 191 balls), playing his 38th first-class game, took the centre-stage and shouldered the responsibility of keeping one end steady despite Bengal being reduced to 43 for 3 at one stage.

Along with lower-order batter Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (20), he added 80 runs and the hallmark of his batting was footwork against spinners.

He wasn’t afraid to play the conventional as well as paddle sweep against off-spinner Tripurana Vijay and left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar.

This was his seventh hundred in first-class cricket but perhaps the most important one.

Against seamers Reddy, KV Sashikanth, Kalidindi Raju and Kavuri Saiteja, he played some glorious drives through the covers.

Bengal were in a bit of bother after both Jaiswal and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed ( 5) were out bowled by slow bowlers. In the case of Shahbaz, the delivery from Saurabh turned appreciably to uproot his off-stump.

Bengal were in a none too comfortable situation with scorecard reading 153 for 5 but Kolkata Maidan veteran Sumanta Gupta, who is playing his maiden first-class season at a ripe age of 35, gave Gharami company to remain unbeaten on 22.

The duo added 46 for the unbroken sixth wicket stand although their first job would be to score the remaining 97 runs, ensuring the first innings lead.

However with three days left, there is a high chance of an outright victory for either of the sides unless Bengal bat long in their first essay.

Brief Scores: Andhra 1st Innings 295 (Ricky Bhui 83, Mukesh Kumar 5/66, Akash Deep 4/79).

Bengal 1st Innings 199 for 5 (Sudip Gharami 112 batting, Sumanta Gupta 22 batting). PTI KHS KHS UNG