Kalyani (West Bengal): All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed struck his second first-class century before Mohammed Shami delivered a double blow in successive overs as Bengal tightened their grip in pursuit of a fourth successive Ranji Trophy Group C win here on Tuesday.
Resuming at 267/4, Bengal carried on from their strong position overnight with Shahbaz, who began the third day on 61, settling in quickly alongside Sumanta Gupta as the pair drove the hosts to a commanding 442 all out.
At stumps on the penultimate day, Assam were 98/3 in their second innings, still 144 runs behind with seven wickets in hand, as Bengal pressed for a second straight bonus-point win.
Bengal lead the Group C table with three wins from four matches and remain two points clear of second-placed Haryana (18).
Shahbaz’s fluent 101 off 122 balls, laced with 11 fours and two sixes, anchored Bengal’s innings.
Gupta matched him stroke-for-stroke during their imposing 129-run fifth-wicket stand before Mukhtar Hussain finally broke through, trapping Shahbaz soon after the left-hander completed his century.
Having returned from injury in the Gujarat match, the spin bowling all-rounder has been in prolific touch lower down the order.
With the bat, he has back-to-back scores of 86 and 51 not out, and is now Bengal’s second-highest run-getter this season with 300 runs at an average of 60 from just three matches.
The left-arm spinner has also been among their leading wicket-takers with 18 scalps, including a match haul of eight against Railways that sealed a bonus-point win in their previous match.
Only Shami (20 wickets) is ahead of him in the pecking order.
While the Bengal top order, including India Test hopeful and skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (66), once again failed to convert their starts, Shahbaz, at No. 5, looked in complete command.
Gupta too showed fine temperament, adding crucial runs with the lower order, including Rahul Prasad (28 off 48), as Bengal crossed 400.
Gupta fell agonisingly short of a century, dismissed for 97 by Rituraj Biswas (2/40).
Shami provided the late flourish with the bat, smashing an 18-ball 14, studded with two fours and a six to prop up the total past 440.
Assam’s reply began disastrously, with both openers — Rishav Das and Pradyun Saikia — dismissed without scoring, while No. 3 Swarupam Purkayastha managed just four.
Shami struck with the second ball of the innings and removed Purkayastha off the first delivery of his next over, both edging behind.
Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal then trapped Saikia LBW after the opener stayed for 16 balls.
Reduced to 8/3 inside six overs, Assam were steadied by Denish Das and skipper Sumit Ghadigaonkar, who dug in to see off the day.
Denish was batting on a fighting 63 off 106 balls with seven fours (7×4), while Ghadigaonkar, who top-scored with 61 in Assam’s first-innings of 200, was unbeaten on 30 off 100 deliveries (2×4).
The pair added 90 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket.
Bengal’s key task on the final day will be to break the partnership early as Assam face an uphill climb, still trailing by 144 runs with seven wickets remaining.
Railways win with bonus point
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Left-arm spinner Raj Choudhary returned match figures of 9/65, including a decisive 5/35 in the second innings, as Railways thrashed Tripura by an innings and 117 runs.
After Tripura were bundled out for 136 in the first innings, Railways piled up a commanding 446/9 declared, built around centuries from Mohammad Saif (158) and Bhargav Merai (160).
Choudhary triggered another collapse in Tripura’s second essay, running through the middle and lower order to claim his five-for of the match.
Only Swapnil Singh (41) and opener Babul Dey (37) offered some resistance before Tripura folded for 193.
Brief Scores:
In Kalyani: Assam 200 and 98/3 in 38 overs (Denish Das 63 batting, Sumit Ghadigaonkar 30 batting; Mohammed Shami 2/29). Bengal 442 in 109.1 overs (Shahbaz Ahmed 101, Sumanta Gupta 97, Abhimanyu Easwaran 66, Habib Gandhi 58; Abdul Ajij Kuraishi 2/67, Akash Sengupta 2/85, Rituraj Biswas 2/40).
In Valsad: Tripura 136 and 193 in 68.3 overs (Swapnil Singh; Raj Choudhary 5/35, Shivam Chuadhary 3/19). Railways 446/9 declared. Railways won by an innings and 117 runs. Points: Railways: 7, Tripura 0.
In Dehradun: Gujarat 324/8 declared and 291/5 declared in 66.3 overs (Aarya Desai 80, Jaymeet Patel 60, Urvil Patel 58; Mayank Mishra 3/78). Uttarakhand 272 and 43 for no loss.
In Rohtak: Services 205 and 283/7 declared in 108 overs (Rajat Paliwal 61, Vineet Dhankhar 57 not out). Haryana 111 and 136/6 in 34 overs (Yashvardhan Dalal 46 batting).
