da betway： At times even a four-day match can turn out to be more interestingthan a one day game
da fezbet： Sakyasen Mittra05-Mar-2000At times even a four-day match can turn out to be more interestingthan a one day game. The ongoing Ranji Trophy Super League group A tiebetween Bengal and Karnataka at the Eden Gardens has all theindications of developing into a real thriller. At close of play onSunday, the visitors were 119 for three wickets chasing Bengal’s firstinnings total of 316.Karnataka have to score another 198 for the first innings lead. Withseven wickets in hand that does not look to be too tough aproposition. However, on a pitch where left arm spinners UtpalChatterjee and Vishal Yadav are making the ball turn and jump up toshoulder height, batting has become a wee bit difficult.In the morning, Venkatesh Prasad and Dodda Ganesh polished off theBengal tail. Ganesh had the misfortune of seeing umpire Giridhar turndown a caught behind appeal off the very first ball of the day againstSaba Karim. The batsman himself confessed at the end of the day’s playthat he had indeed nicked the ball. Karim went on to remain unbeatenon 129 with 19 boundaries as Bengal lost their remaining five wicketsfor the addition of another 35 runs. Ganesh removed Chatterjee andLaxmi Ratan Shukla in one over. Then Prasad struck having Vishal Yadavleg before with a ball that came a long way back. Both bowled superblyin the morning making the ball move both ways.Karnataka in reply suffered a rude jolt when Shukla had Arun Kumarplumb in front with an off cutter. The batsman had shaped to play theball as an outswinger and was surprised when it nipped back. Then itwas a battle between Chatterjee and the Karnataka batsman. Strokeplaywas not possible and survival became difficult. However, one dropRoland Barrington showed tremendous grit and determination as hescored an unbeaten 43 in 272 minutes of 211 balls. After Karnataka hadlost Mithun Beerala and Tilak Naidu, Barrington found an ally inA. Vijay. These two saw the side through till stumps without anyfurther loss.Beerala after scoring 35 tried to cut a ball that jumped on him andwas caught at point by Charanjit Singh. Naidu gloved a ball as itspun past him to the ‘keeper. The hopes of Karnataka now depend on thetwo unbeaten batsman as any new player will find it very difficult tosurvive. Even though runs were scored at a snail’s pace, the battlebetween bat and the ball was quite absorbing.
