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Pathak, Jogyani make merry

Special Correspondent

— Photo: PTI

GOOD EFFORT BUT…Bengal’s Rohan Banerjee comes up with a spectacular but unsuccessful attempt to snare Saurashtra’s Sagar Jogyani.

KOLKATA: Bengal paid dearly for inviting Saurashtra to bat on the first day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Super League Group ‘B’ match at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.

At close, Saurashtra was 372 for three with the openers Chirag Pathak (118) and Sagar Jogyani (103) having helped themselves to centuries and Cheteshwar Pujara closing in on one.

The show began with Pathak and Jogyani plundering 19 runs off Ranadeb Bose’s first over to set the tune for the leather hunt. The short and stout Pathak and the tall and lean Jogyani made the most of the indifferent four-man Bengal pace attack to quickly post 50 in 6.4 overs and 100 in 19.4 overs.

“It was a team decision to bowl first,” explained Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary. “That we did not make use of the conditions is another story,” he rued. Saurashtra was 153 for no loss in 33 overs at lunch.

Aggressive play

In compiling his second hundred, the left-handed Pathak displayed his penchant for aggressive batting and Jogyani, in scoring his maiden Ranji hundred, displayed some cheeky shots normally associated with the shortest version of the game.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Jogyani reached his hundred with the aid of 19 boundaries before he was leg before to Bose for 103 (194m, 142b, 19x4). By then the pair had put on a healthy 206 runs in 42.2 overs.

After an addition of 51 more runs, Pathak was dismissed leg before by off-spinner Sourasish Lahiri for a well-compiled 118 (242m, 134b, 17x 4, 1x6).

The trend the two had set was carried on by captain Jaydev Shah and Pujara with a 73-run stand for the third wicket. Shah was caught at short cover by Deep Dasgupta off mediumpacer Sourav Sarkar’s slower one for 59, just after tea which was taken at 290 for two in 59 overs.

This brought the two brightest prospects from the State, Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja to the crease. By close, the two were undefeated on 68 and 14 respectively.

Pujara was a treat to watch dominating the bowling with fluency and authority. His strength is the drives off either foot, and he displayed this with some delightful strokeplay.

His cover drive off Lahiri, after stepping out early on, and a backfoot cover drive off Sarkar, when nearing the half-century, stood out.

The scores:

Saurashtra — 1st innings: C. Pathak lbw b Lahiri 118, S. Jogyani lbw b Bose 103, Jaydev Shah c Dasgupta b Sarkar 59, C. Pujara (batting) 68, R. Jadeja (batting) 14; Extras (b-4, lb-1, nb-1, w-4): 10; Total (for three wkts. in 84 overs): 372.

Fall of wickets: 1-206, 2-257, 3-330.

Bengal bowling: Bose 18-2-99-1, Sarkar 12-0-48-1, Ganguly 7-2-25-0, Dinda 18-2-82-0, Lahiri 22-2-97-1, Gavaskar 7-1-16-0.

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