Naman Ojha struck an unbeaten century on a dead-looking Eden pitch as Madhya Pradesh put themselves in a comfortable position against Bengal in their Ranji Trophy group 'B' league match, here today.
Bengal had opted for a green top but the slow and low surface severely "upset" the home side as Madhya Pradesh took full advantage of the track after electing to bat and score 293 for four with Ojha unbeaten on 101, his 10th first-class century.
Udit Birla was batting on 14 at the other end when the stumps were drawn for the day.
After being dropped on 5, Ojha first had a fruitful 100-run partnership with Mohnish Mishra (64) and then his stand with skipper Devendra Bundela (35) yielded 97 runs as Madhya Pradesh remained on course for yet another good show against Bengal.
Madhya Pradesh had defeated Bengal by bonus point last season, while in 2011-12, they walked away with three points chasing down 496 in the first innings in Kolkata.
For the Madhya Pradesh wicketkeeper batsman, this was his second consecutive Ranji Trophy century here after his 127 at the JU Saltlake Campus ground in the 2011-12 season.
The home side sorely missed Mohammad Shami, who is doing the Team India duty in Sachin Tendulkar's farewell match in Mumbai, as none of their bowlers could pose any threat on the eased out track.
Wicketless Ashok Dinda slogged for 24 overs, while senior most Sib Shankar Paul was forced to bowl 19 overs and gave the first breakthrough after the first drink break in pre-lunch session.
As their own ploy backfired, Paul severely criticised the pitch in the post-match interaction.
Terming it half-baked, a frustrated-looking Paul said: "The feeling was like tasting a saltless food. Obviously, they had little time to prepare with the India-West Indies Test but we expected some bounce. It appears green but there was no bounce or carry in the wicket. It really upsets everybody in the team."
With nothing going in their way, the catching too was a let down.
Paul gave the first breakthrough with the scalp of Satyam Chaudhary who had an unbeaten double century against Railways in the first round.
But Bengal could not capitalise as five overs later, Anustup Majumdar dropped a regulation catch of Ojha at the second slip off skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla's bowling.
Ojha later conceded that Shami's absence was a boon for Madhya Pradesh.
"They bowled well but Shami's absence certainly gave us an edge. We now have a match in hand and would look to add to the total as much as possible tomorrow," the 30-year-old said.
Brief Scores: Madhya Pradesh 293/4 in 89 overs (Naman Ojha 101 batting, Mohnish Mishra 64) vs Bengal.
