Bengal Dominates Ranji Trophy Opener Against Andhra with Majumdar's Century and Paul's Debut Brilliance

On the first day of their opening Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Andhra in Visakhapatnam on Friday, Bengal reached a commanding score of 289/4 at stumps thanks to a brilliant 125 from Anustup Majumdar and a remarkable debut from Sourav Paul (96).

Anustup smashed 15 fours and two sixes en route to his heroic 139-ball knock, while Sourav hammered 10 boundaries in his 232-ball innings.

Captain Manoj Tiwary (15) and Mohammad Kaif (0) were still unblemished at the end of the day's play.

Sourav and Shreyansh Ghosh (11), who chose to bat earlier, gave the squad a good start. Following their eight-over loss against Shreyansh, Sourav and Sudip Kumar Gharami (18) appeared to be in a comfortable place.

However, Gharami's tenure in the middle was short-lived as the gifted right-hander was removed from the lineup at 62/2 after Hanuma Vihari caught him off A Lalith Mohan.

Bengal needed someone to provide the youthful opener with support while Sourav held fort at one end, and once again, the seasoned Anustup came to the rescue.

At the other end, the 39-year-old veteran batter gave young Sourav all of his support and guidance while producing one of his best knocks of his career. Bengal passed 250 runs and were in a commanding position as the pair put up a much-needed 189 runs for the third wicket.

Sourav was unfortunate to lose out on a century. In the last moments of the day, Anustup also left after being dismissed, with stumps being called in the 86th over.

Lalith Mohan was the best bowler for Andhra, with 2/91.

In 86 overs, Bengal defeated Andhra 289 for 4 (Sourav Paul 96, Anustup Majumdar 125, Lalith Mohan 2/91).

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