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Follow UsBengal started their Ranji Trophy 2022 campaign with a bang as they beat Krunal Pandya's Baroda despite falling behind in the first inning. They chased down the fifth-highest last inning total in Ranji History. Abishek Porel, who was fast-tracked into the Bengal team after a tremendous Cooch Behar Trophy stayed not out till the end along with Shahbaz Ahmed to win it for Bengal. In addition, Porel managed to score his maiden first-class fifty in a tricky situation as well. He shared his debut experience in an exclusive interview with Sportz Point.
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Playing his first match Abishek never looked a newcomer as he looked fairly confident behind the stumps on Day 1. "I was a bit nervous in the first few overs. But, after a few overs, I got accustomed to the environment. After that there were no issues for me," Abishek said over a phone call. Abishek's first first-class dismissal came in the form of Shivalik Sharma who could not resist a delivery from Ishan Porel. It could not have been more dramatic for him to have his first catch from his own cousin who is now added to the Indian test squad.
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Abishek's main contribution with the bat came in the second inning. Bengal was 242/6 when he came into the crease with the team requiring more than 100 to pull off a great win. "We always had the belief that we can win the match. In the last season when we were the runners-up, we had chased runs like this. So, the whole team was confident that we can pull this one-off," Porel said about the team's thought process.
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"Abhi da and Gharami da's opening partnership was very crucial. Then Manoj da batted very well too. Shahbaz da kept on helping me throughout the inning as we kept on piling the runs," Abishek added. Bengal Captain Abhimanyu Ishwaran and Sudip Gharami had an 89-run opening partnership. Meantime, Manoj Tiwary chipped in with a valuable 37 runs in the middle order.
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"Yes, the wicket became flatter and easier to bat on as the game progressed. And, we both being lefties helped us tackle the left-arm bowlers from their side as well. "
Abishek hails from Chandannagar, the city from where Anustup Majumder comes as well. Anustup who is called Bengal's crisis man over the years was impressed by the young left-handed batter. "Ruku da (Anustup Majumder) said this is just the beginning. I have to take the Bengal team home many more times. The work has just started," Abhishek said.
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Coming from the U19s, the first-class arena did not intimate the young Bengal lad. "The only difference in the first-class arena is the quality of the bowlers. The line length and pace is quite different than the U19 level."
Porel has his eyes on the golden prize of representing India someday. However, his next aim is to knock the doors of IPL and India-A via Ranji performances. "I want to focus on the process and take a step at a time. I want to be as professional as all of the seniors and help Bengal win each time I have the opportunity. Performing well in the Ranji Trophy will open many doors for me," Abihsek sounded humble and confident in his voice.
"The opponent should not look at me and think this lad is afraid of us. I want to score plenty of runs for Bengal"
Abishek Porel after his match-winning maiden first-class fifty against Baroda
The Bengal team has quite a lot of senior cricketers of have been conferred as Domestic cricket giants. All of them have been quite influential in Porel's warm welcome to the senior team. "All the seniors are very frank and welcoming. It has been a great last few days for me."
Bengal will start their preparation for the next match from Wednesday. Bengal will be facing Hyderabad in their next match which will start on 24th February.