Ranji Trophy Semifinals | Gharami’s purple patch continues, leads Bengal’s charge against Jammu and Kashmir

Oozing confidence following his marathon knock in the quarterfinals, Sudip Gharami scored his second consecutive century to take Bengal to 249 for five on the opening day of its Ranji Trophy semifinal match against Jammu and Kashmir at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground here on Sunday.

Thanks to Gharami’s unbeaten 136 (227b, 19×4, 1×6), Bengal, asked to bat, registered a decent total. On a conducive track, J & K pacers exploited the pleasant morning conditions to get some movement and left-armer Sunil Kumar removed Sudip Chatterjee in the second over.

Riding his luck, Gharami batted positively and used DRS to get two decisions overturned. He also saw Yudhvir Singh grass a difficult caught and bowled chance early. After 18 dot balls, Gharami spectacularly opened his account by hoisting left-arm seamer Sunil Kumar over long-off. He formed a vital 85-run partnership with skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (49, 96b, 6×4, 1×6), who drove and cut nicely, as they blunted the hard-working rival pace attack.

The script changed swiftly after lunch as J & K pace spearhead Auqib Nabi, displaying exceptional application with discipline and consistency, scalped Abhimanyu and Suraj Jaiswal. Abhimanyu could not protect his off-stump, while Jaiswal edged one to the ‘keeper.

An unperturbed Gharami, who cut deftly, drove authoritatively and swept assuredly, forged another 66-run stand with a sedate Anustup Majumdar as Bengal consolidated its position.

Gharami reached his eighth hundred in the first over after tea and kissed his locket like Virat Kohli. He formed a critical 94-run stand with Shahbaz Ahmed, who played a supporting role after getting dropped on one off Nabi. They played deliveries on merit as an overenthusiastic J & K spent its reviews by the 56th over.

Flourishing well, Gharami made a statement by unleashing two glorious straight drives for four off Yudhvir before Sunil dismissed Shahbaz (42, 91b, 4×4) to enliven J & K before stumps.

The scores: Bengal — 1st innings: Abhimanyu Easwaran b Nabi 49, Sudip Chatterjee c Pundir b Sunil 0, Sudip Gharami (batting) 136, Suraj Jaiswal c Wadhawan b Nabi 0, Anustup Majumdar lbw b Abid 14, Shahbaz Ahmed lbw b Sunil 42; Extras (lb-2, nb-5, w-1): 8; Total (for five wkts. in 79.5 overs): 249.

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-89, 3-89, 4-155, 5-249.

Jammu and Kashmir bowling: Nabi 18-3-48-2, Sunil 16.5-7-31-2, Yudhvir 13-4-47-0, Abid 18-3-80-1, Vanshaj 11-1-34-0, Samad 3-0-7-0.

Toss: Jammu and Kashmir.