A four-wicket haul from Mukesh Kumar and a brisk knock from Abhimanyu Easwaran ensured Bengal took control of the proceedings on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy encounter against Uttar Pradesh (UP) in Lucknow on Sunday.
Easwaran (78*, 107b, 7x4) put on a 141-run unbeaten opening partnership with Sudip Chatterjee (59*, 109b, 5x4), lifting Bengal’s advantage to 160 after its bowlers ensured the crucial first-innings lead earlier in the day.
The two Bengal batters started cautiously, managing only nine runs in the first six overs. Once set, the pair accelerated, scoring 27 runs in the next four overs.
With the home team employing two slips and a gully for the pacers and a slip and short leg for the spinners, there were enough pockets in the outfield for the duo to rotate the strike easily.
Despite the footmarks becoming more pronounced and the odd delivery getting some extra turn and bounce, Easwaran scored runs at a fair clip to put Bengal on the front foot. With the light fading and the field opening up in the post-Tea session, Sudip too stepped up, pacing his way to a fifty off 87 balls.
The final session was stop-start with only 13 overs bowled due to the dim light and a multitude of concussion checks and injury breaks following Yash Dayal’s short-ball attack. The play was eventually stopped 11 minutes before the scheduled end.
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Earlier, Mukesh showed his prowess with the old ball in hand, removing the set Aryan Juyal for 92 with a ball that seamed in. The pacer kept a tight line throughout his eight-over first spell, forcing the batters to play.
The tactic brought him two more wickets in succession. Akshdeep Nath played at one outside off only to nick it to Wriddhiman Saha at first slip and Saurabh Kumar played on to his stumps immediately after.
Dayal went after Shahbaz Ahmed, smashing two sixes and a four in one over before being caught behind by a ball with extra bounce.
Debutant Siddarth Yadav (73, 127b, 6x4, 3x6), running out of partners at the other end, broke out of his shell. After 22 balls without a run, the 21-year-old carved Mukesh over cover for a boundary to signal the change in intent.
Despite Bengal captain Anustup Majumdar pushing all the fielders to the boundary, Siddarth found boundaries at regular intervals to propel UP towards Bengal’s first-innings score.
A 44-run last-wicket partnership with Ankit Rajpoot brought the team within touching distance. But Mukesh returned, with the new ball in hand, to remove the young southpaw with a short ball to ensure Bengal got a slender lead, which the batters capitalised on.
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