Ranji Trophy: Tamil Nadu collapse opens unlikely window for Bengal

Tamil Nadu’s mission of going for an outright win was partly halted by Bengal on Friday in their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match.
Bengal’s Writtick Chatterjee celebrates his fifer against TN | D SAMPATHKUMAR
Bengal’s Writtick Chatterjee celebrates his fifer against TN | D SAMPATHKUMAR

CHENNAI : Tamil Nadu’s mission of going for an outright win was partly halted by Bengal on Friday in their Elite Group B Ranji Trophy match. After being bundled out for 141 on Day 3, the target of 216 still seemed defendable for the hosts. But the determined visitors made sure they didn’t fold up early like the first innings and ended the day at 87/2, needing 129 more to win and bag six points. 

What looked like a decent target now seems to concern Baba Indrajith & Co. Bengal were clear in what they wanted and they succeeded. After bowling out TN at the end of the second session, they began the third on a steady note. Abhishek Raman, who missed a ton in first innings by two runs, hit a 58-ball 53 before Indrajith pulled off a brilliant catch at first slip off Kaushik Gandhi.

But looking at the pitch offering turn and low bounce, the performance of their spinners might worry Tamil Nadu. While the visiting tweakers spearheaded by Writtick Chatterjee took eight wickets in the second essay, Rahil Shah, R Sai Kishore and part-timer Gandhi were not that effective.
“Looking at the first two sessions we thought it would assist spinners. But the wicket didn’t break too much. We hope the first two sessions on Saturday will give a little more help,” said Shah, who removed Kaushik Ghosh in the final hour.

It would have been a different story had the home side managed 50-60 more. But part-time offie Writtick’s maiden five-wicket haul brought Bengal back. The 26-year-old bowled stump to stump and was supported by uneven bounce. Having learnt from Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralidharan at a training programme in Kolkata a few years back, he concentrated on consistency in line and length. That gave enough headache to TN as he removed Baba Aparajith, Anirudh Sitaram and N Jagadeesan.

Though the turning point was Aparajith’s wicket — he expressed dissatisfaction after being adjudged caught at short-leg for 21 — none of the batsmen barring N Jagadeesan (38 off 72) tried to be positive. Singles came mostly when the field was spread wide. Indrajith fell trying to force the pace. Others were too defensive.

If the hosts are to post their first win of the season, they have to be on their toes from the first delivery on the final day. With the pitch expected to turn more, the onus will be on the experienced Shah.
“It’s a 50-50 game. Bengal need 130-odd and we need eight wickets or eight good balls. We need to give 150 per cent tomorrow. One or two wickets will change the game. Hopefully, when the sun comes out, we can expect assistance for spinners. If we dismiss Tiwary early, we are back in the game.”

(srinidhi@newindianexpress.com)

Elite Group A
In Mysuru: Maharashtra 113 & 256 (Gaikwad 89, Shaikh 73; Gopal 4/64, Vinay Kumar 3/41) vs Karnataka 186 & 54/0.
Elite Group B
In Hyderabad: HP 351 vs Hyderabad 352 (Ravi Teja 75, Sandeep 50; Dagar 3/70, Guleria 3/64).
In T’puram: Kerala 63 & 390/8 (Vishnu 155 n.o, Sachin 143; Sen 3/63) vs MP 328.
In Chennai: TN 263 & 141 (Chatterjee 5/22) vs Bengal 189 & 87/2 (Raman 53).
Elite Group C
In Cuttack: Tripura 122 & 304 (Murasingh 75; B Mohanty 4/53, R Mohanty 4/94) vs Odisha 211 & 111/5 (Murasingh 4/37).
Plate Group
In Puducherry: Mizoram 92 & 40/8 (Fabid 4/6) vs Puducherry 375/8 decl (Fabid 103 n.o, Marimuthu 102; Khadir 5/ 97).

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