Abhishek Jhunjhunwala missed out on what would have been a well-deserved century on his comeback after an ICL stint, but fell five runs short when trying to reach the mark in style. Jhunjhunwala had been dropped on 94, attempting to reach his century with a six, but tried the same thing when on 95 only to be caught at third-man. His effort, nonetheless, helped Bengal reach 325, giving them a handy lead of 146 runs at the end of the second day against Maharashtra. Manoj Tiwary, looking for a way back into India reckoning, scored 88.

“My entry into the ICL meant lack of proper match practice and my recent form in the pre-season has not been much to speak of either. Hence I was happy with this performance today,” he said.

Brief scores: Maharashtra (1st innings) 179 all out in 61.2 overs and (2nd innings) 46 for no loss in 10 overs (H Khadiwale 24*); Bengal (1st innings) 325 all out in 105.3 overs (A Jhunjhunwala 95, M Tiwary 88; S Fallah 4/102)