Rajasthan are staring at an innings defeat against Bengal, given the task of scoring 128 runs, with six wickets in hand in the second innings, on the fourth and final day of their Ranji Trophy match in Kolkata.
Bengal put up a massive total of 583 runs for six wickets, with centuries by Sourav Ganguly (122), Manoj Tiwary (181) and Abhiskekh Jhunjhunwala (115) in their first innings, and had
Rajasthan on the mat by close on day 3 of the match on Friday.
Rajasthan, who were out for 193 in the first innings, were 202 runs for four wickets by the end of the day.
Bengal declared their innings after playing just 14.3 overs in the morning.
Ganguly, who smashed the Rajasthan bowlers at will and was at 72 off 73 balls at close on Day 2, was equally devastating on Friday, scoring 122 runs in just 118 balls, inclusive of 21 boundaries, before being caught by Pankaj Singh off Sumit Khatri.
Another overnight batsman, Manoj Tiwary, delighted in his score of 181, off 215 balls studded with 25 fours and three sixes. He was caught by Nikhil Doru off S Gehlot.
Khatri and Gehlot claimed two wickets each while the other two Bengal wickets were shared by Pankaj Singh and Aslam Khan.
For Rajasthan, unbeaten Nikhil Doru (60) and Rohit Jhalani (62) were putting up a brave fight to save the match after their first three wickets fell cheaply. Ajay Jadeja is still to bat.
While Sourav Sarkar claimed two wickets giving away 39 runs, first innings bowling hero Ranadeb Bose picked up one wicket. The right-arm medium pacer has seven wickets in his kitty so far.