CALCUTTA (India): Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed’s late double strike gave Bengal advantage against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-A match at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
After restricting Bengal for 318 in the first innings, Delhi was 192 for six at stumps on day two.
Shorey (65, 129b,11×4) forged partnerships of 68 and 60 with Hiten Dalal (40,78b,7×4) and Nitish Rana (24,68b,2×4) that boosted the visitor’s confidence.
Bengal, which gained from 31-year-old debutant Nilkantha Das’ yorkers to get rid of openers Kunal Chandela and Dalal, regained control in the final session.
Fast bowler Mukesh Kumar was rewarded for sticking to a good line and length as Rana edged a beautiful delivery while Shorey poked at one outside the off within four overs.
Shahbaz had Kshitiz Sharma caught at first slip and Simarjeet Singh at forward short-leg in consecutive deliveries of the last over to bolster Bengal’s case.
Earlier, the host added only 32 runs to its overnight total of 286 for five. Anustup Majumder, resuming from 94, was run out on 99 to a direct throw from Dalal.
Simarjeet claimed three more wickets to return figures of four for 77.
Andhra lead Kerala by 93 runs
In Ongole, hosts Andhra were ahead of Kerala by a small 93-run margin as they were bowled out for 255 runs in reply to the former’s 162. Opener Prasanth Kumar was the top-scorer for Andhra with 79 runs while Jalaj Saxena and Basil Thampi picked up three wickets apiece for Kerala.
In a match delayed due to a wet outfield in Delhi, Railways managed to add 62 runs to their overnight score of 98 runs, losing a wicket against Karnataka.
Aditya Thakare’s (5/43) fifer helped Vidarbha bundled out Gujarat for 211 in their first innings. Vidarbha too, kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and closed the day at 89/4, taking a small 20-run lead based on their 142 in the first innings.
