After narrowly missing a chance to record an outright win against Uttar Pradesh, Bengal will seek to grab maximum points in its first home match of the Ranji Trophy against Chhattisgarh starting at the Eden Gardens here on Friday.
Bengal, which conceded the first-innings lead to Andhra in its opening match, was on top against Uttar Pradesh before settling for three points. Placed fourth in Group B with four points, it feels an urgency to improve its position.
In the absence of some well-known players, including Abhimanyu Easwaran, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, and Shahbaz Ahmed, Bengal has done well in its two away matches.
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The promise shown by openers Sourav Paul and Sayan Ghosh has made the team hope that a long-time problem is sorted out now. Old war-horse Anustup Majumdar has again underscored his worth, while captain Manoj Tiwary has reverted to his old stance in search of runs.
Mohammad Kaif has led the bowling department well with 10 scalps. He has got support from Suraj Jaiswal and Ishan Porel. Here, the trio is likely to be accompanied by a spinner as the pitch may not provide much assistance, barring the initial phase of the match, and demand some skills.
The second-placed Chhattisgarh has gotten a superb start to the season, having gathered 10 points from its outright win over Assam and first-innings lead against Bihar. It will be tested well by a much stronger opposition in its first Ranji outing at the Eden.
Ashutosh Singh and Rishabh Tiwari have served the side well with the bat, while Sourabh Majumdar, M.Ravi Kiran and Vashudev Bareth have led in bowling.
The visitors will try to continue with their momentum and stop Bengal in its backyard.
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