Overhead conditions seem to be posing a hurdle for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. After their first day’s play against Chhattisgarh at Eden Gardens ended 17 overs short due to bad light, play wasn’t possible in the opening session of Day II because of the gloomy weather.

However, with keeper-batter Abishek Porel’s maiden first-class ton, Bengal added 175 to their overnight 206/4 in the 55 overs of play on Saturday, reaching 381/8 at stumps.

“If play begins on time (9am) tomorrow (Sunday), we’ll look to bring 400 up in three-four overs and then declare. But if there’s a delayed start again, we’ll have to declare right away,” chief coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla said later.

The star of the day for Bengal was certainly 21-year-old Porel, who maintained his composure and kept churning out the strokes despite his senior partner Anustup Majumdar (71) not lasting long after play resumed on Saturday. The youngster does need to be appreciated for playing the ball on his merit, not going overboard with his aggressive batting and not trying to go after the bouncer, which almost dismissed him on Day I.

“Given the pitch, Laxmida told me to leave the bouncer as that would help in getting a hundred. I came here early morning and practised leaving the bouncer,” Porel stated.

Brief scores: Bengal 381/8 (A. Porel 114, A. Majumdar 71) vs Chhattisgarh. At stumps, Day 2.