Bengal pacers destroy Services

Kolkata: Bengal are smelling an outright victory after their pacers reduced Services to 126 for eight, still 393 runs behind the hosts' total of 519, on Day II of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘C' match at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground in Kalyani on Friday. While Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal and Akash Deep picked up three wickets each, Mohammed Shami (2-27) had two to raise hopes of Bengal making the knockout rounds.Services openers Shubham Rohilla and Gaurav Kochar made a sedate start getting 41 in 12 overs. But the floodgates opened once Shami had Kochar clean bowled in the first ball of the 13th over.
Things changed dramatically in the post tea session as Services lost seven wickets for 85 runs.First-change bowler Jaiswal first had Rohilla caught and bowled while Shami dislodged Mohit Ahlawat's stumps to reduce Services to 50 for three.Jaiswal was again at it dismissing Ravi Chauhan and Vineet Dhankhar in consecutive deliveries to break the backbone of Services resistance. Akash Deep joined the party next dismissing skipper Rajat Paliwal, Arjun Sharma and Jayant Goyat. Nakul Sharma (32*), playing a lone hand in the company of Aditya Kumar (8*) managed to see through stumps, but they have a mountain to climb.Earlier opener Sudip Chatterjee continued his great form to score his maiden double century just before the lunch interval before being dismissed for 209 which came off 327 balls with the help of 18 fours and one six. Wicketkeeper-batter Shakir Habib Gandhi, coming in place of injured Abishek Porel, ran out of partners getting standard on 91 as Bengal added 175 runs more to be bowled out a little before the tea break.