The batting continued to falter. But crisis man Anustup Majumdar stood up once again to rescue Bengal to a decent position on Day I of their crucial Ranji Trophy clash against Chhattisgarh at Eden Gardens.

At stumps on Friday, Bengal were 206/4 with keeper-batter Abishek Porel (47 batting) showing intent and giving good company to his senior colleague Majumdar. The first day’s proceedings though ended almost an hour earlier due to insufficient light.

Put into bat on a helpful Eden track, Bengal, after their struggle on a green pitch in Kanpur against Uttar Pradesh, were in trouble at 93/3. Openers Sourav Paul and Shreyansh Ghosh gave it away in the opening session itself in spite of a disciplined start.

In the post-lunch session, captain Manoj Tiwary, not looking too solid, offered no shot to a delivery shaping in from pacer Ravi Kiran and was cleaned up. The pitch
does have a sprinkling of grass in it with good carry as well, but with due respect to Chhattisgarh, their bowling lacked sting.

That’s certainly one aspect which Majumdar and Porel latched onto, stroking
several boundaries during their unbroken 79-run fifth-wicket stand.

However, credit has to be given to 39-year-old Majumdar for being unflinching
right through his stay in the middle, something that could be a lesson for the young batters of his team.

For a sizeable first-innings total, Bengal do need Majumdar and Porel to remain at the crease till the end of the first session on Day II, though the latter needs to cut out his recklessness. A needless stroke almost cost him his wicket late in Friday’s final session when he was on 39.

Brief scores: Bengal 206/4 (A. Majumdar 55 batting, A. Porel 47 batting) vs Chhattisgarh. At stumps, Day 1.