Opener Arindam Das struck a fine knock of 111 to give Bengal a headstart before the hosts, bolstered by the last minute inclusion of Sourav Ganguly, lost quick wickets to cull a modest 275 for six on the opening day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite division group league match against Karnataka in Kolkata on Sunday.

Winning the toss and electing to bat first on an unknown pitch at Jadavpur University stadium, Salt Lake, Bengal seemed to be heading for a big total as openers Das and Deep Dasgupta played steady to amass 199 runs in the first wicket.

But, a middle-order collapse saw the hosts finishing at 275 for six at the close with Ganguly (12 batting) and Sourashis Lahiri (19 batting) at the crease.

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Pacer Dodda Ganesh, the mainstay in Karnataka bowling, struck a major blow to the Bengal innings as he picked up the valuable wickets of Dasgupta, Debang Gandhi and L R Shukla for 59 runs after veteran spinner Sunil Joshi broke the opening partnership by getting Das leg before wicket.

Earlier, Das (111, 220 balls, 18X4), who had performed consistently in the last season, joined Dasgupta (98, 190 balls, 16X4) to lead Bengal to 105 without loss at lunch. The hosts were 215 for one at tea but lost five wickets in the last session.

Bengal coach Karsan Ghavri, though disappointed at the middle order collapse, pinned hopes on Ganguly and Lahiri to build up a solid partnership to lead the side to a comfortable total of around 400.

Scorecard:

Bengal 1st innings:
A Das lbw b S Joshi 111
D Dasgupta lbw b D Ganesh 98
D Gandhi b D Ganesh 16
R Gavaskar lbw b S Binny 6
S Ganguly not out 12
L R Shukla c S Binny b D Ganesh 0
S Sanyal run out 6
S Lahiri not out 19
Extras (lb-1, nb-4, w-2) 7
Total (for 6 wkts in 90 overs) 275
Fall of wickets: 1-199, 2-226, 3-235, 4-235, 5-236, 6-244.
Bowling: D Ganesh 23-6-59-3, Vinay Kumar 22-9-50-1, S Binny 9-3-26-0, S Joshi 20-5-69-1, U Patel 12-0-54-0, S Somasundar 3-1-12-0, R Barrington 1-0-4-0.