Ranji Trophy 2021-22: Ishan Porel grabs for-four as Bengal pacers rattle Baroda

Image Source : TWITTER/BCCI DOMESTIC
File photo of Ishan Porel.

Ishan Porel was the wrecker-in-chief grabbing 4/40 as Bengal pacers shared bulk of spoils to bundle out Baroda for a paltry 181 on day one of their elite Group B Ranji Trophy fixture at the Barabati Stadium here on Thursday.

In reply, Bengal were 24/1 at stumps on day one with the two Sudips -- opener Gharami (11 batting) and one drop Chaterjee (nine batting) at the crease after skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (4) got out cheaply in the fifth over.

Put into bat, Baroda got off to a steady start with skipper Kedar Devdhar (31) surviving early on after being dismissed off an Akash Deep no-ball.

But the lanky Porel triggered the collapse in the 15th over, with his twin blows of Devdhar (23) and Pratyush Kumar (0) in the space of three balls.

On a roll, Porel picked his third in the form of Shivalik Sharma (4) in his next over to reduce Baroda to 47/3.

Just when Baroda looked to get going with Krunal Pandya forming an alliance with keeper-batter Mitesh Patel, Akash Deep once again made further inroads.

Akash Deep (2/63) dismissed Krunal and Abhimanyusingh Rajput in three balls to further dent Baroda's hopes for a revival.

Mukesh Kumar ripped through the lower order to finish with 3/33. For Baroda, Mitesh top-scored with a 104-ball 66, while Bharghav Bhatt remained not out on 30.

"The plan was to get as many wickets in the first two and a half hours; the wicket was helping the seamers. Afterwards the wicket became slow, low and flat," Porel said.

"We have bowled well as a unit. Mukesh, Akash bowled well. When we got a breakthrough, wickets came in a cluster. For me, the first wicket of Devdhar was very crucial as earlier he was caught off a no-ball. Overall, it was a good day at the office. Ranji trophy resumed after two years and it feels good to be back in red ball cricket," Porel said.