KOLKATA: Eleven wickets tumbled on Day I of the
Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' clash between Bengal and Kerala at the
Eden Gardens
on Tuesday.
And it was the hosts, who had preferred a greenish pitch to take advantage with Mohammad Shami and Ashok Dinda, who were on the back foot after being bowled out for 147.
Kerala won an important toss and skipper Sachin Baby had no hesitation in asking the home team to bat. The three Kerala pacers -
Basil Thampi, Sandeep Warrier and MD Nidheesh - exploited the conditions to account for all but one Bengal wicket.
Shami struck with his second delivery, trapping the experienced KB Arun Karthick leg before with one that cut in. But the in-form Jalaj Saxena and Rohan Prem prevented any further damage as Kerala closed the day on 35 for one.
The fact that six Bengal batsmen fell to catches behind the stumps while four fell leg before, is an apt reflection about the pitch. Thampi, who bagged 4 for 57, was all smiles at the end of the day's play. "This is the best pitch I have bowled on in the last four years. All three of us just enjoyed it. The ball was seaming and there is good carry too," the pacer said.
Thampi drew first blood in the fourth over of the morning when he forced last-game centurion Koushik Ghosh - who opened the innings with Abhishek Raman in the absence of Abhimanyu Easwaran - to edge a rising delivery to Arun Karthick at second slip.
Sudip Chatterjee's woeful form continued as he failed to score for the second straight innings. The left-hander, trying to flash a Warrier delivery well wide of off stump, got an inner edge for wicketkeeper Sanju Samson to hold on gleefully.
Raman tried to take the attack to the rival camp, stroking the ball fluently. He dealt in boundaries and hit nine of them in his knock of 40 before Warrier struck again. Coming round the wicket, the tall pacer trapped the southpaw in front of the wickets.
Anushtup Majumdar joined skipper
Manoj Tiwary and the experienced duo tried to steady the ship. Tiwary was rattled by Thampi initially, but then looked to have settled down as he buckled down to the task of negotiating seamer-friendly conditions. But the 27-year-old MD Nidheesh, playing his first match this season, picked up the prized wicket of Tiwary by forcing him to play across the line on the legside after posting seven fielders on the off. Tiwary was plumb leg before for 22 which came off 76 balls.
Bengal's decision to play an extra batsman in Writtick Chatterjee over spinner Aamir Gani did not yield dividends as the right-hander soon became Nidheesh's second victim when he edged the pacer to V Jagadeesh at second slip.
Spin was introduced for the first time when Saxena came in to bowl the 39th over of the day. Vivek Singh greeted the offie by lifting him over mid-off for the first six.
But Thampi returned to dismiss Vivek and Shami off consecutive deliveries to reduce Bengal to 114 for 7. Saxena became the only spinner to pick up a wicket when he had Dinda caught by Karthick at first slip in the next over.
Majumdar read the situation well and started playing his shots as wickets started falling around him. The all-rounder hooked Thampi for a six and reached his 50 off 90 balls. He was ninth man out, being caught at second slip by Karthick off Nidheesh for 53 (97 balls, 6x4, 1x6).
Kerala hold the edge, but the first hour on Wednesday is likely to dictate the course of this match.
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