Ricky Bhui was the wall between Bengal and the crucial three points they needed from their Ranji Trophy opener against Andhra in Visakhapatnam. Bengal’s bowlers just couldn’t bring that wall down and they could secure only a point from the match, while Andhra finished with three points.
Resuming on 107 on the final day, Bhui (175) added 68 more to his score and stitched a game-changing 133-run partnership with Shoaib Mohammed Khan (56) for the seventh wicket, which took Andhra’s first-innings total past that of Bengal (409).
At lunch on Monday, Andhra, resuming on 339/6, stretched their total to 445, taking a 36-run lead which confirmed three points for them. The proceedings thereafter were purely of academic interest with Bengal reaching 82/1 in 25 overs before both teams agreed to a draw.
Bengal put the disappointment down to the “dead” Visakhapatnam pitch, but also agreed that they needed to get more runs in the first innings, especially after finishing Day 1 on 289/4.
“We can’t really blame our bowlers because they tried their best right through. But we ought to have scored more runs in our first innings,”Sourashish Lahiri, a member of Bengal’s coaching staff, acknowledged.
Bengal will reach Kanpur on Tuesday for their next game against Uttar Pradesh, which begins on Friday.
Brief scores: Bengal 409 & 82/1. Andhra 445 (R. Bhui 175, SM Khan 56; M. Kaif 3/62). Match drawn.
Saurashtra held
In Rajkot, defending champions Saurashtra managed only three points against Jharkhand despite Cheteshwar Pujara’s unbeaten 243.
Resuming the final day on 140/2, Kumar Suraj (113 not out) and captain Virat Singh (51) forged an unbroken 123-run fourth-wicket partnership that helped Jharkhand to 306/3 and avoid a defeat alongside getting a point.
