Assam almost crushed Bengal, but fell 20 runs short of victory as play was called off due to bad light on the final day of the 'Elite' Group B Ranji Trophy match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.
Chasing a target of 150 runs in their second innings, Assam ended on 130 for four when the day's play was halted by umpires K Murali and S V Ramani amidst protests from the visitors.
Assam manager R K Kakati said his side, which bagged two points with their first innings lead, would lodge an official protest with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
Match referee Shirish Buch said the umpires first suspended play due to the poor light and then called off the game to prevent injury to the players.
He also ruled out imposing any penalty on Bengal, who bowled only 25 overs in Assam's second innings as against 46 overs scheduled to be bowled till close.
Earlier, Assam's bowlers did a good job to dismiss Bengal for 250 in their second innings and set themselves a target of 150 to win the match.
All-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla was the only batsman to make a decent score (46) for Bengal, who had earlier conceded a 101-run lead in the first innings.
Chasing the modest target, Assam lost two quick wickets with just 19 runs on board. But Kiran Pawar and R Satish added 80 runs in just 14.5 overs. Satish scored a quickfire 74 off only 59 balls with 14 hits to the fence.
Assam have two points from three matches while Bengal, with two points from four outings, face the risk of relegation.
Disappointed by the performance of Bengal on home soil, the team management hinted at changes in the side for their next match against Hyderabad.
Assam, on the other hand, expressed satisfaction with their display but expressed resentment against the early stoppage of the play.
Assam skipper Sukhbinder Singh, who hit an unbeaten 115 in the first innings, termed the decision as one "going against cricket".
There were also questions raised from the Assam camp over the fact that the Bengal bowlers bowled only 25.2 overs in 156 minutes of the Assam innings.
The umpires' decision, which apparently came in the wake of protests from the fielding side which claimed poor visibility, irked the Assam team management which claimed "they didn't even consult the batsmen at the crease".
Vasant Sarvanan (6 not out) and Zakaria Zuffri (1 not out) were batting when play was first suspended and then called off.
Among the Bengal bowlers, medium pacer Shibshankar Paul scalped three wickets, taking his match tally to eight.
