Bengal will need a big win over Punjab in its last Elite Group-C match, starting at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday, and a miracle to reach the Ranji Trophy knockout stage.
Placed fourth with 14 points from six matches, Bengal has to regroup after its outright loss to Haryana at Kalyani. It has to beat Punjab with a bonus point and hope that Kerala (21) and Karnataka (19) don’t get a single point in their respective matches against bottom-placed Bihar and table-topper Haryana respectively in order to qualify.
If the difficult scenario does not materialise in favour of the Anustup Majumdar-led side, then the Punjab match will be the swansong for international wicketkeeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha.
His teammates would do well to push for a win, which might boost their chance to qualify or provide a fitting tribute to Saha.
Bengal, already missing the services of Abhimanyu Easwaran, Akash Deep and Shahbaz Ahmed due to fitness issues and Mohammed Shami due to national duty, may have to deal with the absence of seamer Mukesh Kumar, who is nursing a shoulder issue. In Mukesh’s absence, Suraj Jaiswal will lead the attack.
Sudip Chatterjee will return to join young opener Ankit Chatterjee, while a familiar middle order will share the responsibility in batting. Bengal may try out a couple of uncapped players.
Punjab, which will miss last match’s centurion Shubman Gill and internationals Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh and Ramandeep Singh, will look to overcome its defeat to Karnataka and end the season well.
Currently, Punjab, which has depended primarily on Anmolpreet Singh and Jaskaranvir Singh in batting and Gurnoor Brar and Mayank Markande in bowling, is slotted seventh with 11 points.
With a tinge of green, the Eden track may provide initial assistance to the seamers before living up to its reputation.
Published – January 29, 2025 06:44 pm IST
