Bengal is under pressure against Chhattisgarh in the Cooch Behar Trophy, and on the final day of the Elite Group fixture at the Sector 10 BSP Cricket Stadium in Bhilai, Bengal needs 208 runs for victory, with five wickets remaining.
Chhattisgarh posted 283 runs in their second innings, being bowled out in 106.1 overs. Nitant Singh anchored the innings with a resilient 80 off 148 deliveries, while Mohammad Faiz Khan contributed a brisk 43 off 52 balls. For Bengal, Rohit delivered an exceptional spell, returning figures of 7 for 91 from 34.1 overs, including 10 maidens. Agastya Shukla and Virat Chauhan chipped in with a wicket apiece.
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Chasing a target of 314, Bengal were forced to reshuffle their batting order following an injury to Ankit Chattopadhyay, with wicketkeeper Abhipray Biswas promoted as an opener. The move initially paid off, as the opening partnership yielded 99 runs. Abhipray scored a fluent 60 off 100 balls (featuring four boundaries and two sixes), while Aditya Roy made a patient 40 off 121 deliveries (with three fours).
However, the innings unravelled dramatically. The first breakthrough came off the opening ball of the 36th over, and soon Bengal collapsed from 99 without loss to 101 for 5 in 40.2 overs with the second, third, fourth, and fifth wickets all falling at the same score.
Mohammad Faiz Khan was the chief architect of Bengal’s collapse. He dismissed Abhipray before striking twice in consecutive deliveries in the 38th over to remove captain Chandrahas Das (0 off 13) and Virat Chauhan (0 off 1). He then accounted for Sayan Pal (0 off 7) off the final ball of the 40th over. In the next over, Aditya Roy fell leg-before to Dhananjay Nayak.
At stumps on Day 3, Bengal reached 106 for 5 after 43 overs. Kushal Gupta (5* off 9) and concussion substitute Sachin Yadav (0* off 7) remain unbeaten. Faiz has been outstanding with the ball, claiming 4 wickets for just 4 runs from 4 overs, including two maidens, while Dhananjay Nayak has taken one wicket.
