Kolkata: A gritty half-century from Ian Dev Singh Chauhan followed by some lower-order resistance helped Jammu & Kashmir share day two honours with Bengal in their Ranji Trophy cricket Group A fixture here Wednesday.
In reply to Bengal's tall first innings score of 387 all out, Jammu & Kashmir ended the day at 183/5 as they need 54 more runs to avoid a follow-on.
The visitors had two mini batting collapses on both side of the lunch break but their in-form batsman Chauhan once again saved them with a counter-attacking 103-ball 72 (10x4, 2x6) on an Eden Gardens track which has eased out considerably.
Shubham Singh Pundir (34 batting) and Bandeep Singh (27 batting) then remained undefeated in an 55-run sixth wicket partnership to frustrate Bengal.
Ahead by 204, Bengal will have the edge with two more days left as the home team would first look to secure a substantial first innings lead before pressing for an outright win.
The highlight of the day was, however, Wriddhiman Saha's magnificent 166 from 252 deliveries (23x4, 2x6) as the wicketkeeper took Bengal to 387 after a top-order flop show yesterday.
Resuming at 312/7 with Saha unbeaten in the overnight score of 129, Bengal lost Ashok Dinda (25) in the sixth over of the day to bring an end to their 42-run ninth-wicket stand.
Watched by former India captain Sourav Ganguly, Saha played his natural game and completed his 150 in 245 balls with a six to Mohammed Mudhasir but he eventually lost his concentration with wickets falling at the other end.
It was Jammu & Kashmir skipper Parveez Rasool (3/70) who brought Saha's downfall when the off-spinner's flighted delivery breached the Bengal batsman's forward defence to end the innings five minutes short of six hours.
