Das was not in the team's scheme of things as he did not face a single ball at the nets on the eve of the match. But after being forced to open, he grabbed the chance with both hands as he scored a fine 95 from 154 balls (15x4, 1x6).
At stumps on the first day, Bengal were 187 for four after 59 overs with bad light stopping the play twice.
Rajasthan ended on a high having picked two important wickets -- that of Das and Manoj Tiwary (42 from 70 balls, 8x4) -- in the last four overs of the day.
Bengal will now have to start afresh with Wriddhiman Saha and Anustup Majumdar at the crease on six and nine respectively.
In the absence of their regular openers Parthasarathi Bhattacharjee and Rohan Banerjee -- both being injured on the eve of the match -- middle-order batsman Das was forced to come upfront.
The 30-year-old proved a point after Bengal lost rookie Jayojit Basu (6) early at team score of six in the third over.
Das missed the triple figure by just five runs but his partnerships of 67 with Writam Porel and 95 with skipper Manoj Tiwary took Bengal to safety after they were put into bat. (More)
