Rishi Dhawan and Abhimanyu Easwaran shine on Day 1 of P. Sen Trophy

Bengal's one of the most prestigious tournaments, the P. Sen Trophy made a comeback after six years with Mohun Bagan taking on Aryan Club and Bhawanipore Club taking on Khiddirpore Club on Sunday. Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shakir Habib Gandhi scored tons for Mohun Bagan at the Eden Gardens while Rishi Dhawan took five wickets for Bhawanipore in a low-scoring encounter at J.U Second Campus Ground.

Abhimanyu and Habib score tons for Mohun Bagan | P. Sen Trophy

The tournament started with two qualifiers and with quarter-finals starting from tomorrow. Aryan Club won the toss and decided to bowl first at Eden which turned out to be a blinder for them. Mohun Bagan openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shakir Habib Gandhi put up a 271-run opening partnership as both of them completed their hundreds at the mecca of Indian cricket.

Shakir Habib Gandhi who was roped in from the Tapan Memorial club for the tournament, got out on 107 from 93 balls. Meanwhile, Abhimanyu kept on smashing the bowlers out of the park who finished his inning on 161 from 111 balls. Mohun Bagan finished on 430/4 in 43 overs (with 3ca6 penalty runs) with Deepak Punia scoring a blistering 61 from 25 balls.

Coming to bat Aryan Club batters could not keep up with the pace of the game as they kept losing wickets in quick intervals. The second-wicket partnership of 61 between Ashray Jha (39) and Anuj Kumar Singh (38) was the only standout performance in their inning. Aryan was bowled out for 170 as the Green and Maroons registered a 260-run win over the neighbourhood club.

Rishi Dhawan takes 18/5 for Bhawanipore

Meanwhile, at the J.U Second Campus ground the match started late due to a wet outfield and the game was shortened to 37 overs per inning. Khiddirpore won the toss and elected to bowl first as the wicket and weather were conducive for bowling. Khiddirpore bowlers did not disappoint their captain as well.

Bhawanipore's inning only had Rishi Dhawan's brilliance in the lower order. Rishi Dhawan (48) & Jesal Karia (42) were the stars for the J.C Mukherjee winners as they were bundled out on 175. Mithilesh Das took 3 wickets for Khiddirpore.

But, on that pitch, everyone knew it would not be easy for Khiddirpore to chase down the total, even with Saurabh Tiwary in their batting lineup. Aamir Gani struck early for Bhawanipore but it was Rishi Dhawan who did all the damage for them. The Himachal Pradesh captain took 18/5 to bundle out Khiddirpore for 134 and win the match by 41 runs.

Bhawanipore will face Town Club on 20th June at Eden while Mohun Bagan will face Barisha Sporting at JU Second Campus ground for their respective quarter-finals.