'Ishant has a slight ankle niggle and he would not like to aggravate his injury before the South Africa series'
Bengal wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha got a reprieve and then fought hard to help Bengal earn a point against favourites Mumbai despite seamer Abhishek Nayar's deadly spell in a Ranji Trophy Group A encounter at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Rohan Gavaskar had a black-out after being struck by a Harvinder Singh delivery in a Ranji Trophy match
Bengal coach W V Raman on Tuesday said they will gain immensely from the presence of iconic left-hander Sourav Ganguly in the side as they begin their Ranji Trophy Super League campaign against Gujarat.
The all-rounder's 82 enabled Bengal post a modest first innings score of 246 in the Ranji Trophy match against Assam.
A summary of all the action from Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Twenty wickets fell in the first day of Bengal-Orissa Ranji Trophy 'Elite-B' match at the Kanchanjungha Stadium pitch that appeared to be the grave yard for batsmen.
Parthiv Patel scored a century as Gujarat posted 329 in their first innings. In reply, Bengal were 227 for 5 in the Ranji Trophy match.
The former India captain took three wickets and contributed 43 runs as Bengal were 113 runs ahead of Punjab.
India discard Manoj Tiwary, who was involved in an ugly on-field altercation with Gautam Gambhir in a Ranji Trophy match, claimed that the Delhi skipper had made racist remarks about former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and Bengalis.
the past few days have been hectic for shooter Shreyasi Singh and cricketer Manoj Tiwary, who have been juggling political duties with focused preparation for their respective competitive outings as well.
The Indian cricket captain said his team will seek to exploit Australian vulnerability on Indian tracks during the tri-series with New Zealand later this year.
Bengal registered a modest 229 for 7 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Elite division Group 'A' match.
The pair put on a century partnership as Bengal salvaged a draw against Railways in the Ranji Trophy match.
The former India captain is likely to make a comeback in the Test side in South Africa.
Shreevats Goswami finally came out of Wriddhiman Saha's shadow to hit a career best 225 which enabled Bengal post a commendable 475 for 9 on the second day of the Group A league encounter against Madhya Pradesh. At stumps, MP were 19 for 1 with Ashok Dinda getting the wicket of Aditya Srivastava. The day belonged to Shreevats, who played 328 balls hitting 25 boundaries and three sixes en route his maiden double hundred in First Class cricket. It was also a match where Bengal's lower order showed exemplary resilience as the last three wickets produced 268 runs after being reduced to 207 for seven.
After his dream first-class debut where he got a double hundred against Hyderabad, young Punjab opener Jiwanjot Singh scored another matured hundred in his second game as Punjab are on their way to bat Bengal out of the second round Ranji Trophy encounter in Mohali.
Aiming for maximum points to book a berth in the semi-finals, Bengal did manage the first innings lead, but their match against Railways seems heading for a draw.
After bowling Bengal out for 200 and gaining a first innings lead of 109 runs, Hyderabad collapsed for 76 in their second essay.
Hrishikesh Kanitkar's unbeaten 151 went in vain as Bengal finished with two points by virtue of a first innings against Maharashtra.
After excelling with the ball, the deposed India captain scored an unbeaten 81 on day 2 of the Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra.
Steve Waugh was seen in a shooting spree, taking shots of the Eden Gardens as well as those of the Bengal-Ranji fixture.
Bengal reached 207 for three against Tamil Nadu on the rain-interrupted first day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B league match.
India's chairman of selectors urged the BCCI to appoint a bowling coach for the team.
A round up of the second day's play from the Ranji Trophy games being played across the country.
Pacer Ishwar Pandey stole the limelight with his second five-wicket haul of the match as Madhya Pradesh scored a thumping 138-run win over Bengal on the final day of their Ranji Trophy group league match in Indore.
Ravindra Jadeja finished with a match-haul of eight wickets as Saurashtra thrashed Bengal by 270 runs in a Ranji Trophy group league encounter in Rajkot and kept their chance of qualifying for the knock-out stage alive.
A summary of Ranji Trophy matches played on the fourth and final day on Tuesday.
Tamore, who was roped in as replacement for the injured Aditya Tare, reposed the faith of the team management, and along with all-rounder Shams Mulani (50) frustrated the UP attack after play commenced late due to wet outfield.
Two-time defending champions Rajasthan had a disappointing start to their Ranji Trophy campaign, conceding three points to Bengal on the basis of the first innings lead after the match ended in a draw on Monday. Resuming at 109 for five, Bengal rode on a gritty 65 not out (96 balls, 9x4) by Wriddhiman Saha to declare at 232 for 9 just before lunch and set Rajasthan an imposing target of 330 for victory.
Bengal, electing to bat first, scored 226 for two against Mumbai on the first day of the Ranji Trophy tie.
Rohit Jhalani put Rajasthan in a strong position on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy match.
Required to score 186 for an outright victory in the Ranji Trophy match, Bengal were home just after lunch on the last day.
Medium pacer P Vijaykumar came up with a five-wicket haul as Andhra Pradesh took a vital first innings lead over Bengal, who hit back by claiming the visitors' top order late on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Spinner Mortaza Lodhgar put Bengal in a comfortable position by reducing hosts Andhra to 160 for 8 after the visitors scored 234 in their first innings.
Uttar Pradesh beat Bengal by an innings and 152 runs on the third day of the Ranji Trophy tie.
Bengal were in a commanding position after declaring their first innings at 513 for six in reply to Punjab's 241 on the third day of the Ranji Trophy elite group B match
After skittling out Tamil Nadu for 218, they were tottering at 32 for 3 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy match.
Skipper Subramaniam Badrinath led from the front with a sparkling innings of 152 to put Vidarbha in control against Rajasthan on the third day of their Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Bengal restricted Punjab at 210 runs for seven on the first day of the Ranji Trophy Super division match.
