Former gujarat

Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium: Bengal enjoyed a strong outing on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C clash against Services at the Bengal Cricket Academy in Kalyani by finishing at 340/4 in 86 overs on Thursday.

Veteran batter Sudip Chatterjee, returning from an injury, anchored the innings with an unbeaten 140 off 226 balls – his 14th first-class century laced with 12 fours and a six. Chatterjee shared a 151-run opening stand with Abhimanyu Easwaran, who made 81 off 152 balls before being run out.

He later found support from Shahbaz Ahmed (38) and Sumanta Gupta (31 not out) to consolidate Bengal’s position and lead a brilliant batting day for the hosts. The match also marks veteran batter Anustup Majumdar’s 100th first-class appearance. Majumdar, who’s shy of turning 42, had gone past 100 List A appearances in the ongoing domestic season and made 27 off 33 balls.