Guwahati: Speedster Ashoke Dinda wreaked havoc against Assam with a devastating two-over spell taking four wickets without conceding a run as Bengal took complete control of their final Ranji Trophy group league encounter on Wednesday.
After putting up a commendable first innings score of 444 for six, riding on Shreevats Goswami’s (112) maiden first-class ton and Pankaj Shaw’s well-compiled 99, Bengal send Assam reeling at 1 for 4 in four overs with another 290 runs required to avoid follow-on.
Dinda’s astonishing figures read 2-2-0-4. The 31-year-old veteran also completed a personal milestone of 300 first-class wickets- only second pace bowler from the state after current bowling coach Ranadeb Bose (317) to accomplish the feat. This is his 85th first-class match.
Dinda’s 300th victim was rival captain Gokul Sharma (0), who edged one to Shreevats behind stumps. This was after he dismissed opener Pallavkumar Das (0) with the very first delivery of the Assam innings caught by Abhimanyu Easwaran.
With the first ball off his second over, he got rid of Rahul Hazarika (1) with a fuller delivery and then with the last ball of his second over cleaned up nightwatchman Arup Das (0) to send Assam packing 1/4.
Earlier, the highlight of the Bengal innings was the 174 run partnership for the sixth wicket between Goswami and Pankaj Shaw (99), who was unlucky to miss out on a ton on his maiden hundred. This is his fourth half-century of the season as he got a debatable leg-before decision off left-arm spinner J Syed Mohammed’s bowling.
Goswami, who had an indifferent start to the seasonplayed 253 balls hitting 11 boundaries while Shaw’s four hour effort had 10 fours and a six off 189 balls.
Brief scores: Bengal 1st Innings: 444 for 6 declared (Shreevats Goswami 112, Pankaj Shaw 99, Sayan Sekhar Mondal 87, Sudeep Chatterjee 65); Assam 1st Innings 1 for 4 (Ashoke Dinda 4 for 0).
Maharashtra take first innings lead against Karnataka
In Pune, Maharashtra took a surprising first innings lead after bowling out defending champions Karnataka for 180 on day two.
Medium pacers Anupam Sanklecha, Shrikant Mundhe and Nikit Dhumal ran through the Karnataka batting with the innings ending in 67.4 overs.
Maharashtra, who had made 212 in their first attempt, were 70 for four in their second innings and 102 ahead of the visitors, setting up an exciting end to the game. Karnataka captain R Vinay Kumar and fellow medium pacer Sreenath Aravind struck twice to get their team back into the contest.
Brief scores: Maharashtra 1st innings: 212 allout and 70 for 4 in 30 overs (Rahul Tripathi batting 31; Vinay Kumar (2 for 24, Sreenath Aravind 2 for 17); Karnataka 1st innings: 180 all out in 67.4 overs (Mayank Agarwal 33; Anupam Sanklecha 4 for 58, Shrikant Mundhe 3 for 54, Nikit Dhumal 3 for 46).
Vidarbha pile on 504/7 against Haryana
In Nagpur, Ravi Jangid and Aditya Sarwate hit a century each down the order as Vidarbha piled on a massive 504 for 7 declared in their first innings on the second day against Haryana.
Jangid (110) and Sarwate (103 not out) stitched 212 runs for the seventh wicket to demoralise the Haryana bowlers after the home side resumed the day at 284 for 6 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground.
Jangid, who resumed the day at one, added 109 runs today as he hit nine fours and three sixes in his 182-ball knock.
Sarwate hit 10 fours and a six in his 218-ball unbeaten innings.
Yesterday, opening batsman Faiz Fazal had smashed a 266-ball 126 to lay the foundation of the huge Vidarbha total.
In reply, Haryana were 53 for no loss from the 25 overs they faced today with openers Nitin Saini and Chaitanya batting on 25 and 18 respectively.
Haryana now trail by 451 runs with all the 10 first innings wickets intact.
Vidarbha need an outright win to book a place in the knockouts for a second-year running. They could still hope to scrape through by virtue of a first-innings lead if a host of other results go their way.
Bottom-placed Haryana, on the other hand, are out of contention for a knock-out berth with just six points from seven matches.
Brief scores: Vidarbha: 504 for 7 declared in 155 overs (Faiz Fazal 126, Ravi Jangid 110, Aditya Sarwate 103 not out; Harshal Patel 2 for 70); Haryana: 53 for no loss in 25 overs.