Abhimanyu Easwaran dropped anchor at one end as his 97-run stand with Shreevats Goswami enabled Bengal to reach 185 for four against Madhya Pradesh on the first day of their final group league encounter of the Ranji Trophy, here.
With the match against Gujarat being cancelled, Bengal's chances of qualifying for knock out states is very slim and the motivation has taken a dent.
It was Easwaran' s unbeaten 68 with 8 boundaries and Shreevats' stroke-filled 52 with eight hits to the fence that helped Bengal carry out a damage control act after being reduced to 88 for 4 on a day when only 60 overs were possible due to foggy weather.
Opting to bat, opener Abhishek Raman hit a flurry of boundaries - six in all - to race away to 36 but his T20 like instincts took over as he jumped out to hit Iswar Pandey but was bowled in the process.
Before Raman, Prosenjit Das (3) struggled for 24 deliveries as Chandrakant Sakhure brought one into him to trap leg before.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary (15) and Sudip Chatterjee (0) both were victims of away going deliveries edging it to slips. Young Easwaran was ready to defend as he got an able partner in Shreevats who hit some audacious strokes including a short arm pull off Pandey and a cover drive off Datey.
He survived a very strong caught behind appeal off Pandey's bowling. With nearly two hours of play lost and trend likely to continue, Bengal are in all likelihood running their final lap in this year's championship.
Brief Scores:
Bengal 1st Innings:185 for 4 in 60 overs. (Abhimanyu Easwaran 68 batting, Shreevats Goswami 52 batting, Abhishek Raman 36) vs MP.
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