Last Update: January 26, 2023, 18:52 IST
Odisha is in the driving seat. (Pic credit: BCCI)
Both Bengal’s overnight batsmen, Easwaran and Pritam Chakraborty, were gone in no time, and from 39/2 they were at 58/4.
Odisha’s Tej Suryakant Pradhan and Sunil Raul shared six wickets between themselves to force Bengal to follow on after being bowled out for just 100 on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match in Kolkata on Thursday.
Responding to Odisha’s first innings score of 265, the hosts put up their worst batting performance this season, packing in just 35.5 overs, with Abhimanyu Easwaran (27) their highest run-scorer.
However, the hosts improved in the second innings, closing the day on 220 for three – a lead of 55 runs – as Easwaran closed in on his 21st first-class century.
The 27-year-old batted patiently after the first innings defeat, consuming 156 balls for his unbeaten 94, while skipper Manoj Tiwary remained unbeaten on 50.
However, the first session of day three belonged to the Odisha bowlers, who began from where they left off overnight, taking the remaining eight wickets to add only 61 runs to Bengal’s total.
Both Bengal’s overnight batsmen, Easwaran and Pritam Chakraborty, were gone in no time, and from 39/2 they were at 58/4.
Pradhan and Raul took three wickets each as the latter strangled the hosts batsmen and conceded just 19 runs in their eight overs.
The Bengal batsmen played far more sensibly in the second innings, although Karan Lal departed early. But Easwaran, the other opener, resisted the temptation to score quickly, took his time to settle down and then dispatched the loose balls over the ropes.
He hit 13 fours and was involved in two productive partnerships – 82 with Sudeep Gharami and an unbeaten 103 with Tiwary.
An unbroken partnership between the two top-order batsmen will be crucial if Bengal are to avoid defeat on Friday.
However, this defeat will not affect Bengal’s chances this season as they have already made it to the quarter-finals.
Bengal currently top the points table with 32 points, while Odisha are seventh in the group with eight points.
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In Kolkata: Odisha 265 vs Bengal 100 in 35.5 overs (Suryakant Pradhan 3/45, Sunil Roul 3/19) & f/o 220 for 3 in 62 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran batting 94, Sudip Gharami 50, Manoj Tiwary batting 50).
In Rohtak: Haryana 223 in 71.3 overs (Kapil Hooda 42, Sumit Kumar 86; Avneesh Sudha 6/51) vs Uttarakhand 125 in 43 ov 1 (Avanish Sudha 61, Kunal Chandela 32).
In Vadodara: Baroda scored 561 for 6 to beat Nagaland 130 and f/o 88 in 30.1 overs (Bhargav Bhatt 4/37, Ninad Rathwa 4/32) by an innings and 343 runs.
In Nadaun: Himachal Pradesh 15/0 in 4.4 overs vs Uttar Pradesh.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)