Majumdar ton, Shahbaz 86 lift Bengal after top-order collapse

Surat, Nov 8 (PTI) A gritty century from Anustup Majumdar and a fluent half-century by Shahbaz Ahmed rescued Bengal from early trouble and helped them reach a strong 273 for five against Railways on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Group match here on Friday.

Opting to bat first, Bengal found themselves in early trouble against a disciplined Railways attack.

Skipper Sudip Gharami (0) fell early to Adarsh Singh, while Aditya Purohit (6) and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (5) also departed cheaply, leaving the visitors reeling at 27 for three inside the first 27 overs.

Wicketkeeper Habib Gandhi (28) attempted to steady the innings but his dismissal to left-arm spinner Kunal Yadav at 61 threatened to undo the brief recovery.

That was when Majumdar, one of Bengal’s most seasoned campaigners, rose to the occasion.

The 41-year-old right-hander, known for his ability to anchor long innings, showcased immense composure on a sluggish track to bring up his 18th first-class century.

He remained unbeaten on 103 off 161 balls, an innings decorated with 12 boundaries.

Majumdar found an ideal partner in Shahbaz, who counter-attacked in style. The left-hander mixed aggression with control, playing some delightful strokes en route to a brisk 86 off 106 balls, which included 12 fours and three sixes.

The pair’s 134-run partnership for the fifth wicket changed the complexion of the innings, frustrating the Railways bowlers who had dominated the morning session.

Shahbaz, who looked set for a century, fell to Karn Sharma late in the evening, caught at mid-off while attempting to accelerate.

Towards the close, Sumanta Gupta (39 not out off 56 balls) provided excellent support to Majumdar. The duo added an unbroken 78-run stand for the sixth wicket to ensure Bengal ended the day in control.

For Railways, Kunal Yadav was the standout performer, finishing with 3 for 56 from 19 tidy overs.

Adarsh Singh (1/29) and Karn Sharma (1/64) picked up a wicket each, but the rest of the attack struggled to extract any help from the surface.

The first session clearly belonged to Railways, but Majumdar’s experience and Shahbaz’s fluency swung the momentum in Bengal’s favour by stumps.

Bengal will look to push the total beyond 350 on the second day to strengthen their position further.

Brief Scores: At Surat: Bengal 1st innings: 273/5 in 85 overs (Anustup Majumdar 103 batting, Shahbaz Ahmed 86, Sumanta Gupta 39 batting; Kunal Yadav 3/56, Adarsh Singh 1/29, Karn Sharma 1/64).

At Agartala: Tripura 1st innings: 316 for 4 in 84 overs (Hanuma Vihari 143 batting, Sentu Sarkar 94; Darshan Rajbongshi 2/52) vs Assam.

At Rohtak: Haryana 1st innings: 112 all out in 48.1 overs (Yuvraj Singh 30, Ankit Kumar 23; Jagadeesha Suchith 5/27, Mayank Mishra 4/38) Uttarakhand 1st innings: 126 for 2 in 46 overs (Kunal Chandela 37 batting, J Suchith 35 batting; Nishant Sindhu 2/41).

At Nadiad: Services 1st innings: 203 for 8 in 90 overs (Shivam Kumar 37, Rajat Palwal 36; Siddharth Desai 3/55, Vishal Jaiswal 2/61). PTI AT ATK