Anustup Majumdar smashed a superb 125 while Sourav Paul (96) made a memorable debut as Bengal reached a commanding score of 289/4 at stumps on Day 1 of their opening Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Andhra in Visakhapatnam on Friday.

En route his valiant 139-ball knock, Anustup struck 15 fours and two sixes while Sourav in his 232-ball innings hit 10 boundaries.

At the end of day’s play, skipper Manoj Tiwary (15) and Mohammad Kaif (0) remained unbeaten at the crease.

Earlier, opting to bat, debutants Sourav and Shreyansh Ghosh (11) got the team off to a positive start. After losing Shreyansh in the eighth over, Sourav and Sudip Kumar Gharami (18) looked quite settled.

But Gharami’s stay in the middle was cut short after the talented right-hander was caught by Hanuma Vihari off A Lalith Mohan to leave the team at 62/2.

As Sourav held fort at one end, Bengal needed someone to give the young opener support and the experienced Anustup came to the rescue once again.

The 39-year-old veteran batter produced one of the finest knocks of his career while providing full support and advice to young Sourav at the other end. The duo notched up a much-needed 189-run partnership for the third wicket as Bengal crossed the 250-run mark to be in a strong position.

Unfortunately, Sourav was unlucky to miss out on a century. After his dismissal, Anustup also departed in the dying minutes of the day as stumps were called in the 86th over.

For Andhra, Lalith Mohan was the pick of the bowlers with 2/91.

Brief Scores: Bengal 289 for 4 in 86 overs (Sourav Paul 96, Anustup Majumdar 125; Lalith Mohan 2/91) vs Andhra.