Bengal dominate vs Tripura; Rawat leads Uttarakhand fightback vs Services

Agartala, Nov 1 (PTI) Sudip Gharami, promoted to open in place of the injured Sudip Chatterjee, made the most of the opportunity with a composed unbeaten 70, guiding Bengal to a commanding 171 for one against hosts Tripura on the opening day of their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match, here on Saturday.

At the other end, Shakir Habib Gandhi stood firm with an equally impressive 82 not out off 187 balls, studded with 11 boundaries.

The pair added 167 runs for the unbroken second wicket to put Bengal firmly in control before bad light curtailed play to just 60 overs.

Tripura players took the field wearing black armbands to mourn the passing of former captain Rajesh Banik, who died in a road accident on Friday night.

Gharami's 10th first-class half-century came in the 40th over.

Except for one reprieve at slip, he looked solid throughout and found an able ally in Gandhi as the duo punished the loose deliveries while showing restraint otherwise.

Earlier, Bengal lost opener Kazi Junaid Saifi (0) in the second over, caught behind by Sentu Sarkar off Abhijit Sarkar, before the Gharami-Gandhi stand took control.

Tripura skipper Manisankar Murasingh used as many as seven bowlers, but none could break the partnership.

With regular captain Abhimanyu Easwaran on India A duty for the South Africa A four-day game in Bengaluru, wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel is leading Bengal in this fixture.

The visitors, playing their first away match of the season, came in with back-to-back outright wins over Uttarakhand and Gujarat to sit atop the group with 12 points.

In Delhi, wicketkeeper-batter Saurabh Rawat struck a gritty unbeaten half-century, while all-rounder Jagadeesha Suchith provided valuable support with 44 not out as Uttarakhand recovered from early trouble to reach 213 for six against Services.

Opting to bat, Uttarakhand slipped to 117 for six inside 50 overs, undone by left-arm spinner Vikas Yadav’s fine spell of 4/46.

Yadav removed Aarav Mahajan (22) and Yuvraj Choudhary (0) off successive deliveries before returning to dismiss Bhupen Lalwani (25) and Shashwat Dangwal (14) in quick succession.

However, Rawat and Suchith steadied the innings with an unbroken 96-run stand for the seventh wicket to see Uttarakhand through to stumps without further damage.

Arjun Sharma chipped in with 2/69 for Services.

In Guwahati, only nine overs were possible due to persistent rain, with Railways reaching 39 without loss after Assam opted to bowl first.

In Ahmedabad, the opening day’s play between Gujarat and Haryana was washed out without a ball being bowled.

Brief Scores: In Agartala: Bengal 171/1; 60 overs (Sudip Gharami 70 batting, Habib Gandhi 82 batting) vs Tripura.

In Delhi: Uttarakhand 213/6; 90 overs (Saurabh Rawat 52 batting, J Suchith 44 batting; Vikas Yadav 4/46, Arjun Sharma 2/69) vs Services.

In Guwahati: Railways 39 for no loss; 9 overs vs Assam. PTI TAP ATK