Shahbaz shines again as Bengal eye fourth win of season

Kalyani (West Bengal), Nov 17 (PTI) All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed continued his sterling comeback run as unbeaten Bengal tightened their hold on the Ranji Trophy clash against Assam, ending day 2 at 267 for 4 with a first-innings lead of 67, here on Monday.

The left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, who has been a revelation since returning from injury in the match against Gujarat where he claimed a nine-wicket haul, struck a sparkling unbeaten 61 off 67 balls with six fours and two sixes.

Giving him company is Sumanta Gupta on 25 off 40 balls, including four boundaries, as the duo would look to bat long and extend Bengal's lead to a point that they bat just once in the match.

This is Shahbaz's third fifty in as many matches. In Bengal’s previous outing against Railways, he produced a match-winning all-round effort of 7/56 and 86, helping secure a bonus-point victory.

His fluent knock on Saturday once again underlined the impact he has had on Bengal's unbeaten campaign.

With three points already assured through the first-innings lead, Abhimanyu Easwaran’s side will now push for a full six-point win for their fourth outright victory of the season.

Replying to Assam’s 200, Bengal were propped up initially by a 122-run second-wicket stand between skipper Abhimanyu (66) and Shakir Habib Gandhi (58), before Shahbaz and Sumanta Gupta consolidated their dominance heading into the penultimate day.

Earlier in the day, Assam’s innings folded quickly from their overnight 194/8, adding just six runs.

Mukhtar Hussain was run out by Sudip Gharami in the second over of the day, while veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami (3/64) ended the resistance of skipper Sumi Ghadigaonkar (53 from 165 balls).

Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (3/24) and Mohammed Kaif (2/30) also contributed as Bengal’s bowlers kept full control.

Bengal sit atop Group C with 20 points, ahead of Haryana (18) and Uttarakhand (16), and are firmly on course to extend their unbeaten run this season.

Brief Scores: In Kalyani: Assam 200 in 80.2 overs (Swarupam Purkayastha 62, Sumit Ghadigaonkar 53; Mohammed Shami 3/64, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 3/24, Mohammed Kaif 2/30). Bengal 267/4 in 67 overs (Abhimanyu Easwaran 66, Habib Gandhi 58, Anustup Majumdar 43, Shahbaz Ahmed 61 batting).

In Dehradun: Gujarat 324/8 declared in 88.4 overs (Jaymeet Patel 100, Abhishek Desai 99, Kshitij Patel 61 not out; Jagmohan Nagarkoti 4/65, Mayank Mishra 3/54) and 5 for no loss. Uttarakhand 272 in 74.3 overs (Kunal Chandela 116, Aarav Mahajan 47, J Suchith 40; Vishal Jayswal 3/29, Siddharth Desai 3/64).

In Valsad: Tripura 136 vs Railways 446/9 in 127 overs (Bhargav Merai 160, Mohammad Saif 158, Kush Marathe 78; Abhijit Sarkar 4/69, Ajay Sarkar 2/56).

In Rohtak: Services 205 and 122/4 in 58 overs (Shubham Rohilla 30). Haryana 111 in 43.2 overs (Ankit Kumar 32; Amit Shukla 8/27). PTI TAP AM TAP AM AM