Opener Shantanu Mishra made headlines after going undefeated in 41 matches on day one of the Ranji Trophy Group. The match between Bengal and Orissa here at Eden Gardens was severely restricted due to a damp pitch on Tuesday.
A wet pitch, likely due to excessive watering, was a cause for concern for the team on the eve of the game. This severely hampered the action on the first day as the draw was held at 12:30pm. The match started at 1:00 pm instead of the usual 8:45 am, with four referee inspections.
Accustomed to bat, Orissa scored 96 points for 2 wickets in 35 overs in the first innings as less than 3 hours of play were available throughout the day.
The afternoon’s start was favorable for Odisha’s openers Anurag Sarangi and Shantanu (41 shots, 106b, 6×4). Akashdeep made a breakthrough when Anurag was caught short mid-wicket in 15 overs.
Shantanu and Sandeep Pattanaik (30, 46b, 6×4) held on well and on the second wicket he added 57 runs. Shantanu drives and flicks sideways, successfully slicing to get four loose supplies. Sandeep collected most of the runs on either side of the border.
They punished Pace debutant Akash Gatank for not showing discipline. The partnership fell apart when Sandeep was caught behind a wide ball by Ishan Porel.
Shantanu and skipper Subranshu Senapati were in the middle when the day’s game was called off.
“Our bowlers have done their best. We will continue this and try to get a wicket tomorrow morning,” said Bengal’s L.R. coach. Shukla.