Out-of-form India fast bowler Mohammed Shami produced a remarkable late spell, taking three wickets in four deliveries to help Bengal bowl out Uttarakhand for 213 on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match here on Wednesday.
In reply, Bengal had a nervous start, with captain and India Test aspirant Abhimanyu Easwaran dismissed with the first delivery of the innings. The hosts ended the day at 8 for 1 in five overs, with Sudip Chatterjee (1)* and Sudip Kumar Gharami (7)* recovering from some difficult moments. Bengal are now 205 runs behind heading into Day 2.
Veteran seamer Mohammed Shami finds late rhythm under fading light
After returning to domestic cricket early in the season to play in the Duleep Trophy, Shami was still searching for form and rhythm after a difficult spell that had been punctuated with injuries and poor performances. The 35-year-old was largely ineffective during the day and had 14 wicket-less overs before finding his form in a brilliant last spell.
Skipper Easwaran’s decision to turn to Shami for a fifth spell proved beneficial for the team. After Uttarakhand’s lower order had shown some resistance and crawled past 200, Shami was able to find reverse swing in the fading light and polished up the tail with a stunning spell.
He sent Janmejay Joshi packing off a swing, then took an edge off Rajan Kumar the next ball, and would have had a hat-trick had Devendra Singh Bora not offered an edge to keep it in tinging minutes after. His figures were excellent, capturing 3 for 37 off 14.5.
The four wickets he took erased what had been a rather routine outing for the Bengal veteran, who had difficulty deriving penetration on dry, grassless pitch at Eden Gardens that offered no movement. Earlier in the day, even tailenders were comfortably held up, making it almost impossible for Bengal's younger quicks to find a breakthrough.
It was Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (4/54) who led the way with his lively pace and late swing, accounting for a top order that kept finding none after Shami and Akash Deep couldn't find a way in. The 25-year-old all-rounder, who scored 100 in Bengal's last match against Punjab, was the pick of the bowlers for most of the innings.
Ishan Porel (3/40) offered vital support by dismissing Uttarakhand's top scorer Bhupen Lalwani (71 off 128) just when he looked like he was going to get a big one. The Lalwani wicket started a collapse from 179/6 to 213 all out, with Shami wrapping up the innings in the 73rd over.
The Eden surface, stripped of grass just before the match, raised eyebrows given Bengal's four-pronged pace attack of Shami, Akash Deep, Porel, and Jaiswal. But the removal proved prescient at the death as Shami's late burst swung the game in his team's favour.
