Sudip Gharami scored 101 as Bengal stayed in the hunt for a victory against Himachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group A clash at the Eden on Thursday.

Chasing a challenging target of 472, Himachal were 79/1 in their second innings at stumps on Day 3, after Bengal declared on 291/5 in their second innings.

Earlier, resuming the day on the overnight score of 89/1, Bengal lost opener Koushik Ghosh (23) cheaply with the score on 98/2. In-form batsman Anustup Majumdar then came in to give good support to Gharami.

Anustup once again played a handy knock, smashing five fours in his 38-run innings. The duo added 52 runs for the third wicket to take Bengal past the 150-run mark.

After Anustup’s dismissal, skipper Manoj Tiwary came in. The senior pro played a classy 83-ball 50, smashing five fours to provide excellent support to his junior partner.

Gharami and Manoj added 106 runs for the fourth wicket to help Bengal cross 250. Gharami reached his century and took Bengal’s lead over 400.

But with the duo back in the hut, Shahbaz Ahmed (19) and Abishek Porel (11) remained unbeaten as Bengal declared with a huge lead on the board.

At the end of the day’s play, Gharami said: “I am very happy to contribute for my team. It was entirely the team’s planning to play aggressively and pile on some quick runs.

“I spoke to Laxmi (Ratan Shukla) da and Manoj da and they gave me full freedom to play my natural game.

“I wanted to do well in the second innings after I didn’t get too many runs in the first. Tomorrow (Friday) the morning session will be vital.”

Brief scores: Bengal 310 and 291/5 decl (Sudip Gharami 101, Manoj Tiwary 50). Himachal Pradesh 130 and 79/1 (Prashant Chopra 44 batting, Ankit Kalsi 17 batting). At stumps on Day III