Veteran Bengal left-hander Sudip Chatterjee achieved his maiden double century in his 14th year of first-class cricket, aided by a formidable pace attack from Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep. This performance
dominated Services on the second day of their Group C Ranji Trophy match.
Resuming from an overnight score of 140, Chatterjee reached his first double ton, scoring 209 off 318 balls in his 85th first-class match. Bengal posted a commendable 519 in their first innings.
Chatterjee’s partnership of 147 runs for the sixth wicket with Shakir Habib Gandhi, who remained unbeaten on 91, pushed Bengal past the 500-run milestone.
Services, already on the back foot, lost wickets regularly. Shami (2/27 in 11 overs) and Akash (3/31 in 7 overs), along with young seamer Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (3/29), reduced Services to 126 for 8 by the end of the day.
With a lead of 393 runs and just two wickets left to claim, Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla is expected to instruct captain Abhimanyu Easwaran to enforce the follow-on and aim for seven points. Securing six or seven points against Services would almost guarantee Bengal a spot in the knockouts, with one match against Haryana remaining.
Chatterjee found a dependable partner in Gandhi, and the duo scored freely. Chatterjee’s innings ended when he was caught by Vineet Dhankar off left-arm spinner Arjun Sharma. His knock included 18 fours and a six. After his dismissal, Gandhi remained nine runs short of a deserved century as the tailenders folded quickly.
In Services’ innings, Shami dismissed left-hander Gaurav Kocchar and former Delhi keeper-batter Mohit Ahlawat, both unable to handle the surface’s movement. Suraj took care of the middle-order, and Akash Deep troubled the batsmen with his deliveries, with Gandhi and Anushtup Majumdar taking catches. The third wicket fell to a delivery that came in.
Suchith, Rawat Give Uttarakhand Lead
Jagadeesha Suchith (84 not out) and wicketkeeper Saurabh Rawat (80 not out) added 171 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket, giving Uttarakhand a crucial first innings lead over Tripura in their Group C match in Agartala.
In response to Tripura’s first innings score of 266, Uttarakhand was struggling at 128 for 6, largely due to Manishankar Murasingh’s (3/47) incisive bowling. However, Suchith and Rawat batted with composure for nearly 47 overs.
Yuvraj, Ankit Put Haryana in Command
Yuvraj Singh (70 not out) and captain Ankit Kumar (50) scored half-centuries, leading Haryana to 164 for 3 against Assam at the end of the second day’s play in another Group C match in Fulung.
Earlier, Assam’s first innings ended at 247 after starting the day at 187 for 6. For Haryana, India international Anshul Kamboj took 4 for 45, while Aman Kumar claimed three wickets.
Gujarat in Danger of Innings Defeat
All-rounder Zubair Ali hit seven sixes in his 101-ball 104 as Railways posted a solid first innings total of 424, gaining a significant 249-run lead over Gujarat on the second day of their Group C match in Nadiad.
Earlier, Gujarat was bowled out for 175 in their first innings. At stumps, the hosts were 20 for no loss, needing 229 more runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Brief Scores
In Kalyani: Bengal 1st Innings 519 (Sudip Chatterjee 209, Shakir Habib Gandhi 91) vs Services 1st Innings 126/8 (Mohd Shami 2/27, Akash Deep 3/31).
In Agartala: Tripura 1st Innings 266 vs Uttarakhand 1st Innings 299/6 (J Suchith 84 not out, S Rawat 80 not out, MB Murasingh 3/47).
In Fulung: Assam 1st Innings 247 (Anshul Kamboj 4/55) vs Haryana 1st Innings 164/3 (Yuvraj Singh 70 not out, Ankit Kumar 50).
In Nadiad: Gujarat 175 and 20/0 vs Railways 424 (Zubair Ali 104).
