Bengal reach 113/2 after Dinda grabs five against Haryana

Rohtak: Opener Arindam Das remained unbeaten on 70 as Bengal reached 113 for two at stumps on second day in reply to Haryana`s decent first innings score of 358 in an Elite Group B match of the Ranji Trophy at the Bansi Lal Stadium on Wednesday.

Hosts skipper Amit Mishra removed opener Rohan Banerjee (13) and No. 3 batsman Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (13), trapping both leg before. And at close of play, Arindam Das and Writam Porel (batting on 6) were at the crease. Mishra`s 12 overs have been pretty disturbing for Bengal batsmen as it yielded only 16 runs. One witnessed a fair amount of carry when Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda (5/98 in 31.2 overs) and Mohammed Shami Ahmed bowled in the morning. However, in the post-lunch session when Haryana bowled, the ball started keeping low. With no Manoj Tiwary in the Bengal ranks, scoring another 246 runs can be difficult and a lot will depend on the trio of Sourav Ganguly, Wriddhiman Saha and Laxmi Ratan Shukla on Thursday. Senior opener Arindam has already batted for three and half hours during which he hit 10 fours and Bengal would want him to score another ton after his three-figure knock against Madhya Pradesh in the previous match. Earlier in the morning session, Ashok Dinda bowled a fiery spell from the Railways end as he removed skipper Amit Mishra (2) and Twenty20 specialist Yuzvendra Chahal (0) in quick succession. At 270 for seven, the end looked near but a gritty knock by Sachin Rana (64, 165 balls, 8x4, 1x6) and India U-19 seamer Harshal Patel (26) added 87 runs for the eighth wicket. Rana`s innings was a play and miss game as Ranadeb Bose was unlucky as the batsman on six to seven occasions was beaten by the veteran pacer. A frustrated Bengal skipper Ganguly was seen saying to one of his mates: "I have never seen a guy play and miss so many times in a first-class match." Dinda finally removed Rana as he edged one to Porel at second slip to get his fourth victim. Iresh Saxena (3/78) dismissed Amit Hooda as he went for a wild slog. Dinda finally got his eighth five-wicket haul as he castled Harshal Patel. Brief scores: Haryana 1st innings: 358 all out (Rahul Dewan 115, Sunny Singh 111; Ashok Dinda 1/58). Bengal 1st innings: 113 for two (Arindam Das batting 70; Amit Mishra 2/16). PTI