Bengal’s batting capitulated before spinners Akshay Wakhare and Aditya Sarwate as Vidarbha ended Day I of this Ranji Trophy Group A clash in a tad better position, at the VCA Stadium (Jamtha) in Nagpur.
Off-spinner Wakhare took a five-for and left-arm orthodox Sarwate scalped four as Bengal were bundled out for a paltry 170. Bengal’s bowlers, however, restricted the home side to 89/3 at stumps.
After Bengal were three down for 48, Manoj Tiwary (48) and Ritwik Roy Chowdhury (27) tried to put up some sort of a resistance. But the left knee, which Ritwik hurt during Thursday’s practice session, stood in his way and forced him off the field. And it came at a time when he looked well set.
Ritwik’s rhythm was obviously affected as he could only add a few more runs after returning to bat, before being dismissed by Umesh Yadav. Ritwik, it was learnt, had gone for an MRI later.
Whether he will be able to bat in the second essay is uncertain, while there’s also no certainty over his availability in the next few matches.
“It’s really unfortunate on Ritwik’s part… We hope he doesn’t get ruled out for the coming matches,” said a team source.
Bengal’s bowlers, however, are trying their best to keep the team afloat in the game. Senior pro Arnab Nandi got the prized scalp of Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal (51), while debutant Shreyan Chakraborty got his maiden first-class wicket in the form of Wasim Jaffer.
“I still believe we can restrict them to something less than our first innings total. It will be hard for their batsmen out there because of the extra spin, while our fast bowlers also know where to bowl,” Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran said.
