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Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Day 3, Round 3, match results and highlights: Bengal in drivers’ seat with heavy lead over Punjab

Bengal would believe they still have edge over Punjab when they take on the field on Day Four.

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The match is heading towards an interesting finish with no team completely ahead or out of equation © Getty Images (Representational Image)

On Day Three of Round 3, Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Bengal have tightened their screws over Punjab with a heavy lead of 315 runs at stumps. Winning the toss, Punjab elected to bowl first but since then they have been doing the catching up process as Bengal scored a respectable and challenging 404 in the first innings. Punjab, in their first innings, faltered for a moderate 271 giving a good lead of 133 runs. Despite Bengal losing wickets at regular intervals, Bengal are still ahead with a solid lead and still have five wickets remaining when they take on the field on Day Four. ALSO READ: Ranji Trophy 2016-17

With a fine century from Sayan Shekhar Mandal, which laid the foundation of a good total for his side, Bengal managed to get past the 400-run mark. Punjab had a task in hand but their bowlers had reduced their workload a bit by getting Bengal’s lower-order quickly.  Nonetheless, Bengal’s bowlers chipped in with regular dents as Punjab’s star players, Manon Vohra, Gurkeerat Singh Mann and skipper Yuvraj Singh got starts but perished without scoring big. ALSO READ: Ranji Trophy 2016-17: DEL’s lackluster batting hand big win for KAR

The entire wicket coloumn was shared by Ashok Dinda and Amit Kuila as both got five-fors and pushed Punjab on the mat. Batting in the second innings, Bengal lost rhythm due to Siddharth Kaul’s blows but skipper, Manoj Tiwary, held his end along with Shreevats Goswami to avoid any further damage. Bad lights ruined day’s play slightly before scheduled time but Bengal would believe they still have edge over Punjab when they take on the field on Day Four.

Brief scores:

Bengal 404 & 182 for 5 (Manoj Tiwary 61*, Pankaj Kumar Shaw 29, Siddharth Kaul 3 for 30) lead Punjab 271 (Uday Kaul 77, Sandeep Sharma 46, Ashok Dinda 5 for 58, Amit Kuila 5 for 76) by 315 runs.

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