Bengal gets three points against Saurashtra despite Jaydev ton

Kolkata: Hosts Bengal employed negative tactics in the final two sessions to ensure three points by virtue of first innings lead against Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy group B encounter, at the Eden Gardens, today.

Chasing a victory target of 273, Saurashtra scored 189 for four in 72 overs, when play was called off with skipper Jaydev Shah scoring an unbeaten 104 off 162 balls, only his fifth century in 82 first-class matches. Bengal looked good for full points when they reduced Saurashtra to 38 for four at the end of the 15th over with Ashoke Dinda again castling Cheteshwar Pujara (9). Openers Bhushan Chauhan and Sagar Jogiyani were dismissed by Sourav Sarkar, after which Dinda removed Pujara and Sheldon Jackson. After this Shah and Aarpit Vasavada stuck in for an undefeated 151-run partnership off 57 overs. Shah, whose career average is below 30 after a decade of first-class cricket got stuck into Bengal bowling as he hit 16 boundaries. Vasavada also proved to be a stubborn customer as he remained undefeated for 188 balls hitting six boundaries. However, there was a point of time after lunch when Shah hit a flurry of boundaries and it looked as if Saurashtra might just go for an improbable win. Sensing danger, the Bengal bowlers resorted to negative tactics bowling to a line where batsmen would find it difficult to go for stroke. In the end after 72 overs, both captains decided to call off proceedings as an outright result wasn`t possible. Brief Scores: Bengal 303 & 194. Saurashtra 225 & 189/4 (Jaydev Shah 104 not out, Aarpit Vasavada 50, Ashoke Dinda 2/57). Match Drawn. Points: Bengal 3; Saurashtra 1.