Sudip's unbeaten hundred puts Bengal in command

Sudip Chatterjee built on the strong start by openers Abhishek Raman and Abhimanyu Easwaran and composed a brilliant hundred that put Bengal in a strong position.

Sudip Chatterjee hit 11 fours in his unbeaten knock of 114.

A fluent unbeaten century by Sudip Chatterjee and his 153-run partnership for the third wicket with captain Manoj Tiwary put Bengal in a commanding position (at 341 for three) against Services on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy match at the Palam ground here on Friday. In compiling his ninth first-class century, the 25-year-old Sudip hit eleven fours. The openers Abhishek Raman and Abhimanyu Easwaran gave a rousing start for Bengal, after it was asked to bat, with a 97-run partnership, before both were dismissed by medium pacer Sachidanand Pandey. Tiwary was more enterprising in his 97-ball knock as he hammered two sixes and six fours before being trapped by leg spinner Muzzaffaruddin Khalid Ahmad, for a brisk 69. Bengal paced the innings nicely, scoring about 100 runs every session. In the last hour, wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha shared a healthy partnership with Sudip Chatterjee, as he helped himself to two boundaries, including a six, even as Bengal attempted to consolidate on the gains and be prepared for another strong batting fare on the morrow. While Sachidanand Pandey and Khalid Ahmad managed to bag the wickets, the rest struggled to make an impact, or restrict the flow of runs, after the opening bowlers Diwash Gurdev Pathania and Suraj Yadav kept the flow of runs in check.

BRIEF SCORECARD

Bengal 341 for three in 89 overs (Sudip Chatterjee 114 not out, Manoj Tiwary 69, Abhimanyu Easwaran 65, Abhishek Kumar Raman 40, Wriddhiman Saha 32 not out, Sachidanand Pandey two for 36) v Services .