At maharaja bir bikram college

At Maharaja Bir Bikram College: Pacer Akash Deep and left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed picked five wickets each to bowl out Haryana for 100 and put Bengal firmly in control of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match at the Chaudhary Bansi Lal Stadium in Lahli on Friday.

Akash returned with figures of 5-40 off 15 uninterrupted overs, his seventh five-wicket haul in first-class cricket, while Shahbaz picked 5-42, also his seventh five-wicket haul in the format, as Haryana folded inside 32 overs.

The duo’s efforts helped Bengal take a 93-run first-innings lead. In reply, Sudip Gharami (61) and Abhimanyu Easwaran (61 not out) stitched a 109-run stand for the second wicket to take Bengal to 155/3 in 41 overs at stumps on day two and extend the lead to 248 runs.