Our Sports Reporter
GUWAHATI: A solid unbeaten 90-run partnership between Denish Das and Sumit Ghadigaonkar saved the day for Assam in their Ranji Trophy match against Bengal in Kalyani on Tuesday. In reply to Assam's first innings total of 200, Bengal was bowled out for 442 in their first innings. Assam was 98-3 at stumps on Day III of the match, and they still trail by 144 runs.
Bengal's batters, led by Shahbaz, displayed good batting throughout the day. Shahbaz, who had remained not out on 61 yesterday, went on to score a century in the first innings before being dismissed for 101. He faced 122 balls and hit 11 boundaries and two sixes. He also received good support from Sumanta Gupta, who narrowly missed a century, scoring 97 (131 balls, 14x4s) before being bowled by Mukhtar Hussain. Sumanta and Shahbaz added 129 runs for the fifth wicket.
For Assam, Mukhtar Hussain, Abdul Ali Kuraishi, Akash Sengupta, and Rituraj Biswas each took two wickets.
Assam made a poor start to their second innings, losing three batters—both openers, Pradyun Saikia (0) and Rishav Das (0), and Sarupam Purkayastha (4)—with only eight runs on the board.
However, Denish Das and Ghadigaonkar steadied the innings, adding a crucial 90 runs for the fourth wicket. Denish remained not out on a well-made 63, facing 106 balls and hitting seven boundaries. Ghadigaonkar was also unbeaten on 30.
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