Former India captain Sourav Ganguly signalled a return to form with an unbeaten century on the third day of the Group 'B' Duleep Trophy league match against North Zone, in Guwahati, on Monday.
Seeking a comeback to the Indian team after being in the wilderness since the tour of Pakistan earlier this year, the left-hander was unbeaten on 118 at stumps as East Zone fought back after a disastrous start at the Nehru stadium.
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Replying to North Zone's total of 504, East were 215-4 at stumps, still 89 runs short of avoiding the follow-on, with former Test wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta (22) keeping Ganguly company.
Undaunted by Sunday night's twin blasts in the city, which almost brought the curtain down on the tie, Ganguly lived up to expectations and showed tremendous application.
Resuming at 22 for 2, East Zone's hopes rested heavily on Ganguly. And he seized the initiative, playing a patient 239-ball knock that included 11 fours and three huge sixes.
East suffered the first jolt when Nehra dismissed Abhishek Jhunjhunwala (32). Then all-rounder Laxmi Ratan Shukla (15) fell to Rajesh Sharma. But Ganguly and Deep joined hands to stem the rot and put up an unbeaten stand of 68 runs.
Later talking to reporters, Ganguly said he was disturbed by last night's bomb blasts, but made a determined effort to avoid thinking of it.
Play began 45 minutes late because of extra security drills at t he stadium.
In fact, three North Zone cricket players, including V R V Singh, were lucky to escape unhurt after getting trapped at Fancy Bazar area, the scene of the blasts.
Scorecard
North Zone (1st innings): 504 all out
East Zone (1st innings): (overnight 22-2):
Subhomoy Das c Gambhir b Gagandeep 1
S S Das b Nehra 4
A Jhunjhunwala c Joginder b Nehra 32
S Ganguly batting 118
L R Shukla st Rawat b Sharma 15
D Dasgupta batting 22
Extras: (b-1, nb-22) 23
Total: (for 4 wkts, 77.5 overs) 215
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-5, 3-107, 4-147.
Bowling: Nehra 24.5-6-59-2, Gagandeep 12-4-32-1, Joginder Sharma 12-3-34-0, Rajesh Sharma 23-2-66-1, Bhatia 6-1-23-0.
