Bengal bowlers led by Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal displayed a dominant performance to outclass Assam by an innings and 162 runs on the third day at the ACA Stadium in Barsapara, Guwahati, on Sunday.
The win helped the Manoj Tiwary-led side clinch their first victory of the Ranji Trophy season.
After posting a challenging 405 in their first innings, Bengal bundled out Assam for just 103, thanks to Mohammad Kaif (4-36), Suraj (3-25) and debutant Ankit Mishra (2-22).
With a massive first-innings lead in their bag, the visitors asked Assam to follow on.
The positive intent worked wonders for Bengal as Suraj (5-43), Karan Lal (2-21) and Ankit (2-29) were once again excellent with the ball, bowling out Assam for just 140 in the second innings to win the match by a big margin.
The victory helped the Laxmi Ratan Shukla-coached side bag 7 crucial points from the match. With a win and three draws from four matches so far, Bengal currently have 12 points in Elite Group B.
Earlier, resuming the day from overnight score of 99/8, the home side added only 4 runs in the morning before their innings folded in quick-time.
The hosts’ key batsman and skipper Riyan Parag did not bat in both innings due to an injury.
Following on, Assam openers Rahul Hazarika (22) and Rishav Das (17) got the team off to a positive start.
But Bengal spinners Karan and Ankit dismissed both the openers in quick succession to put the home side in trouble at 49/2.
From there on, despite Saahil Jain (26) and Dharani Rabha (24) getting off to good starts, Suraj came up with a magical spell of fast bowling to bundle out the home side in no time.
