Summary:
Cuttack, Feb 24 (PTI) Wicketkeeper-batter Abhishek Porel continued his fine form with a second half century on the trot as Bengal took an upper-hand on day one of their Ranji Trophy group B match against Hyderabad at the Barabati Stadium here on Thursday.
Abhishek, who scored a resilient second innings unbeaten half-century in their thrilling win over Baroda in the last match, once again provided the resistance for Bengal batting at No.8 with a quick 62-ball 73 (10x4) to take them to 242 in 70.2 overs after they were sent in.
Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar rattled the Hyderabad top-order by dismissing opener Akshath Reddy (0) and Tilak Varma (0) in successive overs to finish day one on 15/2, trailing by 227 runs.
Like against Baroda when Abhishek and Shahbaz Ahmed produced a match-winning 108-run unbroken stand, the duo showed Bengal the way after they were reeling at 116/6, following the loss of Sayan Sekhar Mondal (34), Anustup Majumdar (29) and veteran Manoj Tiwary (2) in the space of just nine runs.
Abhishek took charge in the partnership with 10 boundaries on both sides of the wicket, while Shahbaz chipped in with a 61-ball 40 (2x4) in their 74-run stand for the seventh wicket.
But Abhishek could not convert it into a bigger score and was cleaned up by Ravi Teja to get out for 73.