da spicy bet： Even though they had their work cut out chasing a huge 472 Bengal batted withpurpose and determination, reaching 98 for 2 at stumps on the third day of the Ranji Trophy final.
da dobrowin： The Bulletin by Anand Vasu in Mumbai04-Feb-2007
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out
Ranadeb Bose was the pick of the Bengal bowlers with 5 for 71 as he took hisseason’s tally to 57 wickets © Cricinfo Ltd
Even though they had their work cut out chasing a huge 472 Bengal batted withpurpose and determination, reaching 98 for 2 at stumps on the third day of the Ranji Trophy final. After Mumbai scored 294 in their second innings they left themselves with two days and a session to take ten Bengal wickets, but they found the going tough. Deep Dasguptaled the resistance as Bengal put their timid first innings effort firmly behind.On a pitch that began to turn appreciably, Mumbai looked for initialbreakthroughs from their star duo of Ajit Agarkar and Zaheer Khan, butneither could replicate the penetrative bowling of the first innings. Itwas only when Amol Muzumdar brought about the first change, bringingWilkin Mota into the attack, that the first breach was made. ArindamDas, who had seen off 44 balls for 10, chased a wide delivery and the edgeflew thick and fast to Wasim Jaffer in the slips cordon. Jaffer reactedsharply, snapping up the difficult offering and Bengal were 39 for 1.Then Dasgupta and Abhishek Jhunjhunwala continued the resistance, seeingoff Mota and Agarkar’s second spell. Dasgupta was in especially god touch,picking boundaries off Agarkar with ease. Once again it was achange in the bowling that brought rewards, as Ramesh Powar floated one into Jhunjhunwala and won the appeal for lbw. Replays suggested thatthere might have been a bit of bat involved, but the umpire ruled in thefavour of the bowler, leaving Bengal at 65 for 2.From there on, though, there was no success for Mumbai as Dasgupta, whobatted almost three hours for his 43, and Manoj Tiwary, took Bengal to 98for 2 at stumps. The target of 472 is miles away, with 374 still needed,but the fight Bengal showed augurs well. With two days to go in the game,Powar could well play a big role, being the lone spinner in the attack.
‘In the first innings he had stamped hisauthority on the game in dramatic fashion, but in the second dig Sachin Tendulkar wasdecidedly less assured’ © Getty Images
When it was Bengal’s turn to bowl, earlier in the day, it was onceagain Ranadeb Bose who did the job, picking up 5 for 71 as he took hisseason’s tally to 57 wickets. A decent Sunday crowd – probably the best ofthe game – gathered at the Wankhede Stadium when the day began, inanticipation of Tendulkar’s arrival at the crease. They did not have towait all that long, for Jaffer popped a return catch to Ranadeb Boseearly in the day. Jaffer had made 53.A huge roar greeted Tendulkar as he walked out to the middle, but he wasdefinitely not at his best. In the first innings he had stamped hisauthority on the game in dramatic fashion, but in the second dig he wasdecidedly less assured. More than once he was surprised by a bit of extrapace or bounce and took blows on the body, most noticeably when he waslate on a pull shot against Ashok Dinda and was struck flush on thehelmet. Saurav Sarkar even managed to draw out an error when Tendulkar hitone uppishly back at the bowler, but Sarkar juggled the offering and couldnot latch on to it.Still, interspersed between some less than perfect shots, were the gems.The whip through the on side consistently beat the field, and back-footpunches through cover sped away with ease. In the end, it was a change inthe bowling that brought relief for Bengal. Dinda, who had bowled a longspell, gave way to Sourashish Lahiri, and Tendulkar took a bit of achance, attempting to hit a short ball wide of the man at cover, but onlymanaged to find Tiwary. It wasn’t the best ball of the day, but Lahiri hadTendulkar’s wicket for the second time in the game, this time for only 43runs.Muzumdar and Abhishek Nair ensured that there was no further damage, andtook Mumbai to lunch on 220 for 5. The post-lunch session proved to bemore entertaining than the first, with Nair batting more freely as thelead burgeoned past 400. He struck five boundaries and a six in his 34,while Muzumdar was more conventional, getting to 37. But the man to watchwas Ranadeb Bose, who bowled with impressive stamina and purpose even with histeam’s chances fast fading as Mumbai ended on 294. Bengal have begun well but it will be uphill all along as they battle a mammoth total.
