Amit Kuila made a memorable debut, bagging three wickets for Bengal, but Punjab stayed in the race for the first innings lead as it reached 168, losing just four wickets on the second day of the Ranji Trophy cricket league match at the Luhnu ground here on Friday.
The 21-year-old Kuila, tall and wiry, was quite enthusiastic as he bowled with considerable pace on the helpful pitch. But Bengal fielders dropped catches, two of them in one over of Kuila. Earlier, Bengal was dismissed for 404.
However, the Bengal camp had a lot to cheer as it had dismissed the danger man, the Punjab captain Yuvraj Singh, who glanced the seasoned medium pacer Ashok Dinda into the diving gloves of wicket-keeper Shreevats Goswami.
Punjab took some smart catches this morning, as opening bowler Sandeep Sharma ended with four wickets.
Apart from the missed catches, two wickets off ‘’no balls’ in the innings, added insult to injury for Punjab.
In the process, Pankaj Shaw capitalised on the situation to stroke a patient 55 off 138 balls that added substance to the Bengal innings.
Punjab’s batting revolved on the unbeaten 73 by Uday Kaul, who came into the middle after opener Jiwanjot Singh was caught for naught in the second over, the maiden first class wicket for Amit Kuila.
Taruwar Kohli gave company to Uday, in an unbeaten 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but Bengal will hope to take advantage of the lively morning conditions tomorrow.
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