Baroda tail wags just in time to take visitors past 300-run mark; Irfan makes the ball talk as Bengal looks forward to a big knock from Sourav

After starting the match on the wrong foot — their batting all at sea against the moving ball in the opening session — Baroda are very much back in the game against an inconsistent Bengal side after the second day’s play in the Ranji Trophy Super League at the Eden Gardens on Wednesday.

From a largely inadequate 219 for 6, the Baroda tail wagged just when it mattered most, taking the score past the 300-run mark. And as usual, the Bengal batting began its reply poorly, stumbling against Irfan Pathan with the new ball. At stumps on Day Two, Bengal were 102 for 3 — trailing Baroda by 205 runs. Sourav Ganguly (15) and opener Arindam Das (52) were holding forte after warding off the dangerous Pathan before bad light stopped play an hour after the tea break.

Even as Baroda seem to hold a slight but definite advantage after securing the 300-plus first innings score and then sending back three key Bengal batsmen, the hosts are looking up to Ganguly in their bid for the all-important first innings lead.

The tussle for the lead could be won or lost in the opening session tomorrow. Bengal’s fate rests on Ganguly, who got off to a watchful but confident start. After Pathan made telling inroads with his inswingers that the hapless Bengal top-order found too difficult to handle, Ganguly combined well with the technically-sound Das to stem the rot.

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