Kalyani (WB), February 8 Sudip Kumar Gharami struck a career-defining maiden double century as Bengal tightened their grip over Andhra to take a comfortable 123-run first-innings lead at stumps on the third day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, here on Sunday.
A resolute Gharami showed immense patience, facing 451 balls in his unbeaten innings of 216, to anchor Bengal to 418 for 6 in reply to Andhra's first innings total of 295 all out.
The 26-year-old right-hander hit 27 fours in his marathon knock, which rescued Bengal from early trouble and virtually batted Andhra out of the contest.
With the first-innings lead already secured, Bengal – who can qualify for the semifinals even with a draw – will now look to pile on more runs and completely eliminate Andhra from the game on the fourth day.
While Andhra now needs a miracle to bounce back in the game, Bengal have one foot in the semifinals, where they will face the winners of the contest between Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir at this very venue.
Chasing 291, Madhya Pradesh are in a difficult position at 87 for 5 on the third day in Indore.
Resuming the day at 199 for five with Gharami unbeaten on 112 and Sumanta Gupta on 22, Bengal consolidated steadily on a pitch showing signs of wear and tear.
Gharami handled both the pace and spin attacks of Andhra with ease.
The Andhra quicks tried around-the-wicket angles and bowled short balls at him, while left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar tried to exploit the rough outside leg stump, but the batter remained solid and held his ground.
He first stitched a crucial 165-run stand for the sixth wicket with Gupta, who made a composed 81 before getting a leading edge to silly point off Saurabh.
Gharami then found good support from wicketkeeper Habib Gandhi, as the pair added an unbroken 100 runs for the seventh wicket to take Bengal past the 400-mark and stretch the lead beyond three figures.
Gandhi was batting on 45 at close on day three. There are two more days left in the match.
Earlier, Andhra had made 295 in their first innings with captain Ricky Bhui scoring the highest with 83.
Mukesh Kumar (5/66) and Akash Deep (4/79) shared nine wickets between them, while Mohammed Shami chipped in with one.
Brief Scores:
Andhra 295 vs Bengal 418/6 in 146 overs (Sudip Kumar Gharami 216 batting, Sumanta Gupta 81, Habib Gandhi 45 batting; KV Sasikanth 2/59, Saurabh Kumar 2/81)
