Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Porel fifty stands out in Bengal’s tame batting show against Maharashtra

Abishek Porel led the way in the 66-run partnership for the eighth wicket with Pradipta Pramanik. | Photo Credit: PTI

Abishek Porel stood out with a fine half-century amid ruins as Bengal posted its lowest total of the season, 143 in the first innings, on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match against Maharashtra at the Eden Gardens on Monday.

Bengal, asked to bat, put up a forgettable performance as Maharashtra pacers Pradeep Dhade and Tanay Sanghavi impressed with three-wicket hauls. In reply, Maharashtra was at 21 for two when bad light stopped play.

While Maharashtra seamers extracted some seam movement, Bengal batters made things difficult for themselves due to their lack of application and poor shot selection.

Home captain Abhimanyu Easwaran perished chasing a delivery outside off against Rajvardhan Hangargekar. His opposite number Prithvi Shaw fumbled before Sachin Dhas completed the catch at first slip.

Abhimanyu’s departure began a miserable procession. Ankur Paul lobbed one to cover and Suraj Jaiswal offered an outside edge off Dhadhe’s successive deliveries.

Southpaw Sudip Chatterjee shouldered arms to be adjudged lbw, while the right-handed Sudip Gharami was bowled in a similar fashion as Sanghavi was rewarded for his consistency.

Shahbaz Ahmed gave a simple return catch to Hangargekar and Sumanta Gupta edged Dadhe to slips as Bengal reeled at 72 for seven in the first session.

Abishek Porel (54, 67b, 8x4) and Pradipta Pramanik (31, 43b, 5x4) defiantly formed a 66-run stand and took the home side past 100 runs. Porel executed lovely drives on the off-side and straight down the ground while scoring his first fifty of the season.

Off-spinner Siddhesh Veer accounted for Pramanik and Porel, whose leading edge went to cover, and Sanghavi dismissed Mohammed Shami as Bengal’s innings ended within an hour after the lunch break.

Dadhe, who hit the right areas and tested the batters, Sanghavi, Hangargekar and Veer maintained constant pressure and gave Maharashtra an advantage.

Thanks to Shami’s genius, Bengal kept itself in the contest even after a disastrous batting display.

In his fourth over, the crafty Shami knocked off Shaw’s off-stump and trapped Digvijay Patil lbw in consecutive deliveries.

Bad light, owing to overcast sky, stopped play at 1.52 p.m. before the eventual draw of stumps.