Abhimanyu, Arindam, Vivek and all-round Bhawanipore beat Mohammedan to win the CAB 1st division league

Bhawanipore defeated Mohammedan Sporting Club in the CAB 1st division final by virtue of their first-innings lead in a rain-halted five-day pink ball match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday. Bhawanipore captain Abhimanyu Easwaran, experienced campaigner Arindam Ghosh, and his Railways teammate Vivek Singh were the stars of the final with stunning hundreds.

Batting first, Bhawanipore declared at 479/9 in the first innings after rain interrupted play every day of the first three days. Captain Easwaran scored a stunning 115 runs from 190 balls during a difficult period, helping Bhawanipore come out of trouble.

Easwaran and Ghosh dominate the first inning

While Easwaran showed his class with his century, Arindam Ghosh (134 from 241 balls) delivered one of the best innings of the season. Ghosh, still strong for Railways in the domestic circuit, proved his mettle and showed discipline and courage to score his third century in a pink ball match.

Subham Sarkar (57 not out) and Pradipta Pramanik (35 from 62) contributed with handy knocks, taking their first-innings total to 479/9 before Easwaran declared.

In reply, Mohammedan Sporting started their first innings well, with Jayojit Basu (47) and Gitimoy Basu (34) providing a solid start. However, rain interruptions on Day 3 disrupted their momentum.

Ravikanth Shukla tried his best to hold the innings together but kept losing partners. Deepak Kumar took 4 wickets and Pradipta Pramanik took 3, bundling Mohammedan out for 209 and giving Bhawanipore a huge lead of 270 runs, which proved sufficient to clinch the title.

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Vivek scores a quick-fire 151 in the second inning

Vivek Singh scored a quick-fire unbeaten 151 from 182 balls, eliminating any chance of a Mohammedan comeback. Sandipan Das supported him with a solid 76 from 89 balls. Subham Sarkar continued his good form and remained unbeaten on 51 before the captains shook hands on Day 5 at Eden Gardens.

However, Bhawanipore’s season did not start smoothly. Most players, except Sandipan Das and Pradipta Pramanik, had left for Mohun Bagan at the start of the season, and ironically, eight former Mohun Bagan players joined Bhawanipore. Additionally, their successful coach left for East Bengal.

Despite some "average performances" in the group stage, Bhawanipore reached the pre-quarterfinal stage with some comebacks. Things started changing once Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran joined the team.

Sandipan Das, the captain before Easwaran’s arrival, praised Easwaran’s batting and leadership skills. "Everything changed after Abhimanyu joined us. He was brilliant as a leader, and we all know how good he is with the bat," Sandipan told Sportz Point via phone call during their success party.

"From the start, we had the team to go through tough times. Just like a champion team, we fought our way back from every tough situation, and in every match, we kept contributing and helping each other. It feels great to lift the trophy," Das added.

Raj Kumar Pal, one of the eight players who joined Bhawanipore from Mohun Bagan, echoed Das’s thoughts. "To be a champion team, you need to keep fighting when times are tough. Players like Subham Sarkar, Uvais Ahmed, Deepak Kumar, Prinan Dutta, Aamir Gani, and everyone, including Abhimanyu and Arindam, contributed whenever needed," Pal told Sportz Point.

After his fifth championship title as a player, Raj feels that along with young players, teams need experienced players to excel in Kolkata club cricket.

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Subham Sarkar, the young pace-bowling all-rounder, was in and out of the team throughout the season but stepped up whenever needed. According to Sarkar, "In a team with champion players, sometimes you get missed due to combination issues. As an all-rounder, I was not contributing enough with the bat. So, I had to keep working hard, train hard, and be ready when the chance came."

Sarkar, who has been in and around the Bengal squad and was previously named in the preliminary squad, feels this championship win will give him the confidence boost he needs to push for a place in the Bengal team.