Bengal batters Abhimanyu Easwaran and Abishek Porel fought hard with the bat as India B and India C crawled their way back on the second day of the Duleep Trophy 2024, Day 3 in Ananthapur. Abhimanyu Easwaran, the India B captain, who had scored an unbeaten 157 in the last match, scored his 25th first-class ton against India D. On the other hand, young wicket-keeper batter Abishek Porel scored a quick 82 from 113 balls to keep India C in the game against India A.

Abhimanyu Easwaran's century keeps India B in the game!

Bengal's Abhimanyu Easwaran bagged his second consecutive century in the Duleep Trophy 2024. Easwaran scores a stunning 116 off 170 against India D in the first innings including 13 fours and a six.

The talented opener, who has been toiling hard in domestic cricket, scored his 25th ton in first-class cricket. The 29-year-old cricketer has 29 half-centuries in first-class as well. 

Easwaran, who missed earning the India cap in India's last tour to England, where he was out due to COVID-19 and Shubman Gill fixed his place in the team before he could make a return to the team. Now, with Gil struggling in the red-ball format, many pundits are asking for Easwaran's test call-up. 

At the end of the second day, India B are at 210/6 in 58 overs chasing India D's 349 in the first inning. India B still trailing by 139 runs.

Read Also | Exclusive Abishek Porel: Competition in the team, love for Hardik Pandya, plans for IPL 2024 and future goals 

Abishek Porel's knock of 82 saves India C

Another Bengal batter  Abishek Porel impressed one and all with an impressive knock of 82 off 113 balls for India C against India A. The 21-year-old youngster however could not complete his first Duleep Trophy ton as he was dismissed while going for a big shot against Shams Mulanii.

Porel sustained the first innings of India C along with Baba Indrajith after the team faced an early collapse of 41/4 in just 15 overs. 

Abishek Porel has maintained an average of 42.50 in the Duleep Trophy 2024 and has been one of the best young players in the tournament so far.

India C finished their day 3 at 216/7 in 64 overs in the first innings chasing India A' 297 in 90.5 overs in the first innings. They are currently trailing by 81 runs. 

Since winning the Ranji Trophy in the 1989-90 season, when a player named Sourav Ganguly debuted for them in the final, Bengal have not been able to win the domestic title till now. From 2005 to 2007 they dominated the domestic circuit but came second twice in two seasons.

The last time they played in the Ranji Trophy knockouts was in the 2022-23 season when they lost against Saurashtra on their turf in Kolkata.

Post that final at Eden Gardens, two seasons have gone by and Bengal's quest for another Ranji Trophy title continued. In the 2024-25 season, they even failed to make it to the knockouts after average performances in the red ball format despite having a few national team players in action for them.

In the last few years, Bengal Cricket have been accused of multiple issues such as a lack of home-grown talents, reports of age frauds and outstation players finding it easier to make themselves local players, reports of corruption in the second division and many more.

Today, we will not cater to those areas of Bengal cricket. Rather, we will have a deep analysis of what has happened within the team.

We will dig deep into numbers to analyze and discuss what might have gone wrong in the last three seasons for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. 

Keep in mind, that we have only taken the Ranji Trophy format and data into consideration. We will discuss the white-ball numbers in a different article soon.

Read Also | Where Are They Now: Last Time Bengal Men's Cricket Team Won A Trophy

Numbers and More: Bengal Ranji Team in Last Three Seasons

Here are a few findings from the last three seasons of the Bengal Ranji Team, collected by Sportz Point via BCCI.tv and ESPNCricinfo.

#1 | 13 opening combinations in three seasons

This has been the main pain point for Bengal in the last few seasons; the opening slot. Though they have the services of one of the Best domestic players in Abhimanyu Easwaran, they have found it hard to find a suitable partner for him.

Moreover, whenever Easwaran goes to any National team duty or India-A games, Bengal have not been able to replace him as well.

In the last three seasons, Bengal have gone for as many as 13 opening combinations. In the 2024-25 season, they had 4 different opening combinations. In the 2023-24 season, the number was 3 and in the 2022-23 season, the number was 6.

2024-25 opening combinations 

• Ankit Chatterjee & Sudip Chatterjee (Match 6)
• Ankit Chatterjee & Writtick Chatterjee (Match 5)
• Shuvam Dey & Sudip Chatterjee (Matches 2, 3, 4)
• Sudip Chatterjee & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Match 1)

2023-24 opening combinations

• Sourav Paul & Shreyansh Ghosh (Matches 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)
• Abhimanyu Easwaran & Ranjot Khaira (Match 6)
• Habib Gandhi & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Match 7)

2022-23 opening combinations

• Abhishek Das & Koushik Ghosh (Matches 1, 2, 5)
• Koushik Ghosh & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Match 3)
• Sayan Shekhar Mondal & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Match 4)
• Karan Lal & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Matches 6, 7, 9)
• Kazi Junaid Saifi & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Match 8)
• Sumanta Gupta & Abhimanyu Easwaran (Match 10)

From the above list, it is quite obvious that Laxmi Ratan Shukla and the management have not been able to find a great opening pair which can last for a whole season. Though Sudip Kumar Gharami started as an opener, since he settled in at number three, Bengal has tried to use him only in that position.

Only the pair of Sourav Paul & Shreyansh Ghosh got five matches in a row in 2023-24 and the rest of them did not get that many consecutive matches to open as a pair. Yes, the availability of Abhimanyu Easwaran made that a bit tough as well.

Read Also | Bengal Cricket: 7 U-19 cricketers from Bengal who can play for India in future

#2 | 22 debutants in three seasons 

Bengal team management gave first-class debut caps to as many as 22 players in the last three seasons, which largely speaks about the inconsistency this team has had.

Even if we clear out the accusations of having "club quotas" in less important games, we have a few interesting numbers to present. 

In the last three seasons, only Manoj Tiwary retired from all forms of cricket and we had Wriddhiman Saha and Sudip Chatterjee moving to Tripura to play first-class cricket. Besides that, players like Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep constantly stay busy with the national team setup.

Now, if you calculate the number of injuries to players like Ishan Porel and Shahbaz Ahmed, along with the different demands of the first-class arena, 22 debutants is a large number which can point to many distinct sections of the selection process.

Regardless of many arising questions in the Kolkata Club Cricket section, all of these 22 players performed quite well in Club cricket and age-level cricket to earn those selections. But, surely, the team combinations lacked consistency.

Players who made first-class debuts in the last three seasons for Bengal

Sumanta Gupta, Geet Puri, Ankit Mishra, Akash Ghatak, Ravikant Singh, Karan Lal, Suman Das, Habib Gandhi, Ranjot Khaira, Sourav Paul, Shreyansh Ghosh, Mohammed Kaif, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Rohit Kumar, Ankit Chatterjee, Sumit Mohanta, Vishal Bhati, Rishav Vivek, Avilin Ghosh, Shuvam Dey, Suvankar Bal, Subham Chatterjee.

#3 | 8 debutants played only one game in the last three seasons

When any team select any player, there is something they see beyond the numbers. Numbers matter but the experience and gut feeling of those selectors matter more.

But, in the case of Bengal, we have seen a lack of faith in those talents. 8 out of those 22 debutants played only one game in a season. If you discount the debuts of Sumit Mohanta and Vishal Bhati, who debuted in the last game of this season, the number is six. 

Below are the players who played only one game after making debuts for Bengal in first-class since the 2022-23 season - 

Suman Das, Ravikant Singh, Habib Gandhi, Rishav Vivek, Vishal Bhati, Sumit Mohanta, Suvankar Bal, Subham Chatterjee.

Only pace bowler Rishav Vivek was injured after his first match and the rest of the players did not get a game after their first match.

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#4 | 17 players played two or fewer matches since the 2022-23 season

Here arises the question of consistency again. It might be the case of selectors or team management moving from one player to another quickly or players not impressing them enough in two games. But, a staggering 17 players have played two or fewer first-class matches in the last three seasons.

Again, we should cut the names of Ankit Chatterjee, Sumit Mohanta and Vishal Bhati from the consideration since they made debuts in the last two or final games of this current season.

Players to have played two or fewer matches in the last three seasons

Suman Das (1), Ravikant Singh (1), Habib Gandhi (1), Rishav Vivek (1), Vishal Bhati (1), Sumit Mohanta (1), Suvankar Bal (1), Subham Chatterjee (1), Kazi Saifi (1), Aamir Gani (1), Pritam Chakraborty (2), Geet Puri (2), Ranjot Khaira (2), Avilin Ghosh (2), Rohit Kumar (2), Ankit Chatterjee (2), Sumanta Gupta (2)

#5 | Anustup, Gharami, Easwaran and who?

If we take out the numbers of Bengal's top order batters, only Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Kumar Gharami and Abhimanyu Easwaran have scored the most runs for them in the last three seasons. 

Bengal played the Ranji Trophy final in the 2022-23 season when all three scored more than 700 runs in a season, which was pivotal to Bengal's success. Shahbaz Ahmed and Abishek Porel played a few fighting knocks down the order for them, but that has not been good enough to turn the tables so far.

However, in the last two seasons, both Anustup and Gharami have not been able to continue that form and that was visible in the Bengal's results column.

Bengal players with the most runs in the last three seasons

2024-25 

1. Sudip Chatterjee - 441 at 55.12
2. Sudip Gharami - 331 at 41.37
3. Anustup Majumdar - 228 at 28.50 

2023-24 

1. Anustup Majumdar 510 at 63.75
2. Abishek Porel 377 at 41.88
3. Abhimanyu Easwaran 337 at 168.50

2022-23 

1. Anustup Majumdar 867 at 61.92
2. Sudip Gharami 803 at 50.18
3. Abhimanyu Easwaran 798 at 66.50

#6 | Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal - The Lone Warrior

Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal has been Bengal's only shining star in the last two seasons since making his debut in the 2023-24 season. The medium pacer took advantage of Ishan Porel's injury and the absence of Indian stars like Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar and came out as Bengal's best performer. 

Read Also | Exclusive Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal: "Jumping out" from tough times to become Bengal's star of the season

Jaiswal took 31 wickets in 6 games in his first season and followed that up with 29 scalps in the next season. In both seasons, he was the highest wicket-taker for Bengal. 

Not only that, he also scored his maiden first-class ton this season, showing his all-round skill. 

Other than him, no Bengal player could make a name for himself in the last two seasons. Do not be surprised if Suraj gets a maiden India-A call-up soon as well. 

Most wickets for Bengal since Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal's debut

2024-25

1. Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 6 matches 29 wickets
2. Mohammed Kaif 5 matches 17 wicktes 

2023-24

1. Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 6 matches 31 wickets
2. Mohammed Kaif 6 matches 17 wickets

What future holds for Bengal Ranji Team?

There is no doubt that Bengal has one of their greatest players Laxmi Ratan Shukla as their head coach. But, with too many changes and chops within the team, it is high time that the team management shows faith in homegrown talents and gives them a long run at a first-class level. 

However, the most important thing would be that players raise their hands and perform at the domestic level. Players like Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal can be exemplary for them to learn and turn opportunities into success.

Hello and welcome to Sportz Point's LIVE coverage of Bengal vs Haryana match in Ranji Trophy 2024-25. The match will be played at Bengal Cricket Academy Ground in Kalyani.

This is Koushik Biswas, who will be bringing you all the LIVE updates of the match as Bengal look to qualify for the knockouts of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25.

Read Also | Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Matchday Six LIVE Updates of 16 matches: Rohit, Jasiwal to play for Mumbai, Pant to star for Delhi

Meantime, Haryana with domestic stars like Anshul Kamboj will be looking to beat Bengal at the their own turf too.

This is a must win match for Bengal to stay within the reach of the next round. So, stay updated with the updates of the match on our LIVE Blog. 

Do not forget to refresh the page time-to-time to get the latest updates. 

Some of the young players of the Indian team will be available for the Vijay Hazare Trophy after returning from Australia after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 1-3 loss. Devdutt Padikkal, Prasidh Krishna, and Abhimanyu Easwaran will be in action for their respective teams in the knockout stage of the 2024-25 season in Vadodara from January 9.

Also Read: Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25: Knockout fixture and schedule

India's wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul has been sought in the ODIs, while Washington Sundar may be available if Tamil Nadu reaches the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 semi-finals. 

Padikkal and Prasidh flew from Sydney on Wednesday (January 8) along with most of the Indian contingent. According to reports, Abhimanyu was given permission to fly a day earlier. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) then booked him on the flight so that he could join the state team in Vadodara after stops in Singapore and Ahmedabad.

 Abhimanyu will practice with the team

Abhimanyu will practice with the rest of the Bengal team ahead of the pre-quarterfinal match against Haryana on Wednesday. Akashdeep, the other player in the Indian team, has been ruled out due to back pain. Due to this, he could not play the last Test in Australia. He will go to the Center of Excellence (National Cricket Academy) in Bangalore.

When will Padikkal and Prasidh join?

Padikkal and Prasidh are expected to join the Karnataka team by January 10, a day before their quarterfinal match against Baroda. Initially, Padikkal was only part of the India A team that toured ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. 

Padikkal was included in the Test squad after Rohit Sharma's arrival was delayed. He got to play in India's 295-run win in Perth but was not selected in any of the subsequent Tests.

Abhimanyu's first match in two months

Prasidh Krishna played his last Test in Sydney. It was a year since he played a Test match. He picked up six wickets in both innings, including dismissing Steve Smith twice. Both Padikkal and Prasidh impressed in the four-day matches for India A ahead of BGT.

Meanwhile, the match against Haryana of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 will be Abhimanyu's first match in two months. He was benched in all five Tests in Australia. Scores of 7, 12, 0, and 17 in four innings for India Ain Australia made his chances of a Test debut slim as he was in the race for a backup opener to play in Perth in Rohit's absence.

Bengal captain Sudip Gharami's fourth List-A ton helped Bengal beat Bihar by six wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. With this win, Bengal also qualified for the quarter-finals. Sudip remained unbeaten on 107 from 128 balls as Bengal chased down 236 with 45 balls to go.

Shami and Pradipta starred for Bengal with the ball

Bengal were boosted by the presence of Mohammed Shami, who could not play in the earlier matches of the tournament. Shami returned with 1 wickets while giving away only 28 runs in 8 overs. He dismissed the youngster Vaibhav Surayavanshi who played an exciting knock of 26 from 16 balls. 

Before that, Bengal won the toss and elected to ball first at the Gymkhana Ground in Hyderabad. Bihar had started well with young gun Vaibhav Surayavanshi hitting three fours and two sixes against Mukesh Kumar. But, the youngest player in IPL auction's history could not face the heat from Mohammed Shami and nicked one behind to Abishek Porel. 

Read Also | Exclusive | "He has the intent to play at the highest level," Bihar head coach on Vaibhav Suryavanshi

Post that, it was Piyush Singh's inning of 89 from 112 balls that took Bihar to a respectable total of 235 in the first inning. Bipin Saurabh also played a good knock of 34 from 44 balls but the rest of the batters could not get going against the spin of Pradipta Pramanik, who was the player of the match in the last match against Kerala. 

Pramanik was the pick of the bowler with a bowler figure of 34/3 while Karan Lal and Mukes Kumar picked up two wickets each.

Porel and Gharami put a 111-run opening partnership for Bengal

During the chase, Bengal openers gave a solid start. Wicket-keeper batter Abishek Porel scored a quick fifty but was dismissed in the 18th over after adding 55 from 53 balls. Their opening stand of 111 runs gave others the platform to finish the work. 

But, two back-to-back wickets of Sudip Chatterjee (1) and Anustup Majumdar (0) made things interesting. However, Sumanta Gupta's solid 30 from 29 balls and Karan Lal's unbeaten 37 from 39 balls helped Sudip Gharami to take Bengal over the line.

Read Also | Bengal Cricket: 7 U-19 cricketers from Bengal who can play for India in future

Sudip Gharami completed his 4th List-A ton and remained unbeaten on 107 from 128 balls, including 13 fours and one six. He was adjudged the player of the match as well. 

Bengal with 18 points from 5 games have already qualified for the quarter-finals and will face Madhyapradesh on 5th January in their final Group stage match. 

Sayan Ghosh's maiden List-A five-wicket haul and Pradipta Pramanik's all-round performance helped Bengal beat Kerala by 24 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Ghosh finished with a career-best 33/5 while Pradipta scored an unbeaten 74 from 82 balls while batting at number 8 for Bengal.

After winning the toss, Kerala asked Bengal to bat first. Batting first, Bengal put up 206/9 on the board with efforts from the lower middle order. In reply, Kerala were bundled out for 182 as Mukesh Kumar and Kaushik Maity returned with two wickets and Sayan Ghosh picked up five wickets with the ball.

Lower middle-order saved Bengal in the first inning

During the first inning, Bengal lost their captain Sudip Kumar Gharami (4) and Abishek Porel (8) within the first five overs. Though Sudip Chatterjee (13) tried to solidify the inning, he was dismissed in the 9th over by Basil Thampi. 

Read Also | Bengal Cricket: 7 U-19 cricketers from Bengal who can play for India in future

Under pressure, Bengal played out a different card by sending all-rounder Kanishk Seth to bat at number four. Seth's 32 from 60 balls allowed Bengal to have a platform for Pradipta and others to cash in. 

But, Bengal kept on losing wickets from the other end. Sumanta Gupta (24) tried his best but it was the 69-run partnership for the eighth wicket which helped Bengal bail out from the situation. Kaushik supported Pradipta very well with his 27 from 50 balls while the latter kept on finding gaps.

For the last wicket, Bengal added 35 runs as Pradipta remained unbeaten on 74 from 82 balls, the maiden List-A fifty for the young all-rounder. MD Nidheesh was the star for Kerala with his 46/3 with the ball. 

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Sayan Ghosh ran through the Kerala middle order

Though Kerala had started well during the chase, they lost the track as Mukesh Kumar and Kaushik Maity removed the openers Ahammed Imran and Rohan Kunnummal respectively. For the third wicket, Shoun Roger and captain Salman Nizar added 59 runs but after Kaushik Maity removed Shoun Roger in the 26th over, Sayan Ghosh ran through the Kerala middle order. 

Abdul Basith, Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarwate, Sharafuddeen and MD Nidheesh were dismissed by Sayan Ghosh and eventually Kerala were bundled out for 182. Salman Nizar tried his best with a 49 but could not keep up with the pace of the game. 

With 14 points in 4 games, Bengal currently leading the Group E. They will face Bihar in their next match on 3rd January. 

Match Summary

Additional Performances