Bengal defeated Services by 60 runs in their at the Airforce Palam Stadium in New Delhi. Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran and the team management were quick to identify the sluggish nature of the surface, and that prompted the visitors to bat first after winning the toss.
Eventually, it proved vital for their win as the surface deteriorated with every session.
Captain Easwaran led by example to kickstart the proceedings, scoring a half-century. The 31-year-old was very patient in his approach and built a 67-run partnership with Sudip Gharami, who scored 38 runs. In the second session of the day, Bengal lost wickets rapidly. Their approach was slightly questionable as well, with players trying to hit a few balls, which led to Bengal being dismissed for 184 runs. Pulkit Narang was the star with the ball for Services, claiming a five-wicket haul.
Rajat Paliwal, Services captain, was the only batter to step up in the middle. He made 48 runs, while seven of their batters scored in single digits. They were bundled for 122 runs, which allowed Bengal to take a 62-run lead and that ultimately helped Bengal seal the win. For Bengal, Shahbaz Ahmed and Aamir Gani picked up four wickets each.
After Day 2, Shahbaz spoke highly of his time at the Centre of Excellence, highlighting how sessions with former cricketer Anil Kumble helped him a lot in his return to red-ball cricket.
“We had a spin-bowling and batting camp at the CoE. Anil Kumble sir came for a two-day camp, shared his experience, and focused heavily on technical and tactical things. Having legendary people like Anil Kumble sir and Sunil Joshi sir-whom I have been camping with for the past two months-helps immensely. Those lessons are helping me improve my game now,” Shahbaz answered India TV’s query after Day 2.
Bengal added 146 with bat
The surface remained favourable for the spinners. Rahul Singh of Services claimed a five-wicket haul as Bengal were bundled for 146 runs in the middle. Easwaran was the highest scorer for Bengal, scoring 30, while Gharami made 23 and Abhishek Porel added 25.
Chasing a target of 208 runs, Services managed to scare Bengal through opener Nitin Tanwar, who made 49. After he departed, the wickets fell like a house of cards, with Pradipta Pramanik claiming a four-wicket haul. Shabaz picked three, while Gani picked two.
With that, Bengal have secured two consecutive victories to kickstart the Ranji campaign. First, they beat Delhi in Kalyani and now Services. It should give the team plenty of confidence to secure their place in the knockouts. Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami didn’t feature in the contest as the player wanted a break, while Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep weren’t available for India A tour to New Zealand.