Mohun Bagan pile on runs on day 2

History was made on the 18th of June 2016 at the Eden Gardens as the Pink ball was used for the first time in a cricket match on Indian soil. Having been constantly calling for the use of the pink ball since its inception into cricket, the Cricket Association of Bengal under the able guidance of Sourav Ganguly hosted the first ever day-night pink ball match in India. Bhawanipore took on Mohun Bagan in the finals of the domestic tournament at the Eden Gardens at Kolkata.

The day one of the match saw Mohun Bagan post a decent first innings total on the board after getting some early jolts by the Bhawanipore bowlers; Geet Puri and Ravikant Singh hunted in a pair to restrict the opposition. It was wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who then held the fort for MB with a gritty 33 in the middle order. Anustup Majumdar gave full support to the Indian international and ended as the leading run-getter for the team with 83 runs to his name.

Sanjib Sanyal (60) and Mohammad Shami (36) then put on a very useful 54-run stand for the 8th wicket to ensure MB ended on 278/8 by the end of the day’s play. Day 2 saw them being bowled out for 299 in their first innings. Ravikant Singh, with figures of 4/46, was the pick of the bowlers for Bhawanipore. When MB came into bowl, all eyes were on Mohammad Shami. Shami, much to the contrary belief, said that the ball would get some reverse swing with the pink ball under lights.

His words were true enough as Mohun Bagan bowlers, with Shami leading from the front, rattled out the Bhawanipore batting lineup for a paltry 153 and took a handy 146-run lead in the first innings. Shami registered a 5-wicket haul and returned with figures of 5/42 in the innings. The destruction was, however, kickstarted by Sanjib Sanyal (2/14), who got rid of Abhisek Das in his very first over.

Bhawanipore were reeling on 45/7, kudos to middle order destruction by Sourav Mondal (3/51). It was Uddipan Mukherjee (41) and Sujit Yadav (32), who then put on 60 runs for the 8th wicket to see the score cross the 100-run mark. It was all mere formalities once the partnership was broken as Bhawanipore   bundling out on 153.

MB openers Jayojit Basu and Vivek Singh put up 44 runs for the opening wicket before Ayan Bhattacharjee broke the partnership. Arindam Ghosh came at the crease and paraded along comfortably with 7 boundaries to his name. Wriddhiman Saha managed a golden duck as MB lost 3 more wickets in a cluster. By the end of the day’s play, it was Ghosh’s 49 and Anustup’s unbeaten 20, that saw Bagan end on 150/4. All 4 wickets were bagged by Bhattacharjee.

Mohun Bagan now lead by 296 runs and are well on course for a big win.

Brief Scores:

Mohun Bagan Ist Inning – 299/10 (Majumdar 83, R Singh 4/46)

Bhawanipore Ist Inning – 153/10 (Uddipan 41, Shami 5/42)

Mohun Bagan IInd Inning – 150/4 (A Ghosh 49*, A Bhattacharjee 4/56)