KOLKATA: The pitch grabbed all the attention on eve of a seemingly mismatch of a battle between Bengal and Odisha in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘A’ match beginning at the Eden Gardens on Tuesday.
Hosts Bengal, already ensured of a quarterfinals berth sitting atop the table with 32 points, should hold all the aces against their neighbours, who are lying seventh with just eight points after having a poor run this season. The Subhranshu Senapati-led side, which is yet to record a victory so far, will have to punch above their weight to stop this upbeat Bengal side.
However, a day before the four-day last group league clash, Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary looked more worried about the Eden track than his rivals. The visibly agitated skipper expressed his displeasure with the track on offer.
“Excessive watering has made the pitch almost underprepared. I don’t know what’s the point in playing a home match on such a surface,” he stated, even mulling whether the dampness will force a delayed start on Tuesday.
The former India international was also unhappy with the practice pitch. Pacer Akash Deep took a hit on the stomach due to the uneven bounce on offer during practice on Monday. “It’s very discouraging to get such a practice track. It affects our whole preparation process,” Tiwary stated, adding that he would take up the issue with CAB president Snehasish Ganguly.
Bengal will be without their two important contributors this season — pacer Mukesh Kumar and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed — both doing duties for the national side against New Zealand.
Pacer Pritam Chakraborty is likely to return to the side in place of Mukesh after being sidelined with an injury since the first match. In the spin department it can be a toss-up between Pradipta Pramanik and Akash Ghatak.
However, opening remains Bengal’s bigger concern as they have failed to arrive at a settled pair. Like last match, Karan Lal is likely to walk out with Abhimanyu Easwaran to open the innings. Lal’s inclusion will provide an extra spinning option to the side with Suvankar Bal coming in the middle-order.
Without taking Odisha lightly and nothing short of a win being the target, Bengal will also look to get all their departments in order before the knockouts.
