Debutant Amit Kuila and Ashok Dinda, picking five wickets apiece, helped Bengal to a position of strength against Punjab at the Luhnu ground here on Saturday.
After bowling Punjab out for 271 at the stroke of lunch, Bengal was 183 for five in its second innings at the end of day three. With an overall lead of 315 runs, Bengal will hold the reins on the last day, considering the unpredictable batting of Punjab in the match so far.
It was medium pacer Siddharth Kaul who kept the Bengal innings in check with three wickets including its in-form openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sayan Mondal. However, skipper Manoj Tiwary raced to a fluent half century that was punctuated by some sharp drivers against the medium pacers and smart reverse-sweeps against left-arm spinner Vinay Choudhary.
With wicket-keeper Shreevats Goswami giving his skipper good company, Bengal was slowly taking the match away from Punjab. The day’s play was extended by about an hour owing to the teams' inability to bowl the required overs.
With the morning session particularly rewarding the medium pacers, there could still be an interesting climax if the conditions remain the same tomorrow. Dinda and Kuila's seven wicket burst on the third morning could dictate the flow of thoughts in the Bengal camp.
Other matches (Group A):
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