Bengal lead by 99 with two wickets left as Maharashtra close in at Eden Gardens

Bengal were 99 runs ahead with two wickets standing at lunch on the final day at Eden Gardens, their unbeaten Ranji Trophy record resting on how long the tail can last

Maharashtra won the toss and bowled, and the decision has shaped four days of low scoring. Bengal were dismissed for 143 in 36.5 overs on the opening day, Maharashtra replied with 218 in 82.5 overs for a first-innings lead of 75, and the hosts had moved to 174 for 8 in 52.1 overs in their second innings by the interval on Thursday.

That leaves Maharashtra two wickets from a win and Bengal searching for whatever runs the lower order can add to a lead of 99 on a surface that has offered the seamers something all match.

Bengal came into the round unbeaten after three matches in Elite Group C, and Mohammed Shami has been central to that, returning 4-37 in Maharashtra's innings here.

A last-wicket stand turns the first innings

Maharashtra were in deeper trouble than Bengal for much of the second day, reduced to 102 for 7 by the close, 41 behind, and they were still only 15 in front when the ninth wicket fell at 158.

Tanay Sanghvi, playing only his third first-class match, and Pradeep Dadhe then added 60 for the last wicket to carry Maharashtra to 218. Sanghvi finished 60 not out from 179 balls and Dadhe made 27.

It was the difference between a deficit and a lead of 75, and it set up everything that followed.

Shami leads the Bengal attack

Shami, now 36 and leading Bengal's seam attack, took two wickets on the opening day including the Maharashtra captain Prithvi Shaw and Digvijay Patil, closing with figures of 4-1-6-2 before bad light intervened.

"The wicket has some life," he said that evening, adding that "if bad light hadn't come in the way, we would have done further damage." He finished with 4-37, with Shahbaz Ahmed taking 3-39.

Shami began the season with 4-30 against Delhi at Kalyani and sat out Bengal's match against Services. He was left out of India's squad for the five-match ODI series in New Zealand that began on Wednesday.

Sanghvi's second act with the ball

Having batted Maharashtra into the lead, Sanghvi returned to remove Sudip Kumar Gharami for 12 and Sudip Chatterjee for a duck within three balls, finishing the third day with 2-22.

Dadhe had already removed Abhimanyu Easwaran for 9, and Bengal were 25 for 3 inside ten overs of the second innings, still 50 behind.

Paul and Porel steady the innings

Ankur Paul and Abishek Porel rebuilt with a fourth-wicket stand of 49, the most settled Bengal batting has looked in the match.

Hitesh Walunj removed Paul for 32 late in the day, and Porel was unbeaten on 23 with Suraj Jaiswal alongside him when bad light ended the third day with Bengal 76 for 4 and one run in front.

Weather has squeezed the contest

Only 27.5 overs were possible on the third day, the first session washed out and the rest played under heavy cloud, with Maharashtra adding 11 runs in 3.5 overs before their innings closed.

Bad light has cut each of the first three days short, leaving a final day in which Maharashtra need two wickets and then a chase, and Bengal need their last two wickets to push the target beyond reach.

Scorecard: Bengal 143 (36.5 overs) and 174 for 8 (52.1 overs); Maharashtra 218 (82.5 overs, Tanay Sanghvi 60 not out, Mohammed Shami 4-37, Shahbaz Ahmed 3-39). Bengal lead by 99 runs.

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