Nine Bengal batters score 50-plus in Ranji match, break 129-year-old record

The Bengal Ranji cricket team on Thursday created a global first-class record when all nine batters, who took guard, scored half-centuries in a mammoth first innings score of 773 for eight against a hapless Jharkhand on the third day of the quarter-final, here.

At stumps, Jharkhand were 139 for 5 in their first innings and it is virtually impossible to stop Bengal from entering the semi-final as the opposition now trail by 634 runs.

The match will be remembered for a record that stood test of time since 1893 when the touring Australian team, in a first-class game against combined universities (Oxford and Cambridge), had eight of their batters scoring fifty or more. For Bengal, skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (65) started the march towards milestone along with fellow opener Abhishek Raman (61). This was followed by impressive knocks from Sudip Gharami (186) and senior-most batter Anushtup Majumdar (117). They added 243 runs for the second wicket.

Bengals junior sports minister Manoj Tiwary (73) also added his name to the list along with Abhishek Porel (68), who has not let Bengal miss Wriddhiman Saha for once.

RCB all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (78) and Sayan Sekhar Mondal (53) also made half-centuries to complete an Indian cricket but when Akash Deep came and smashed 8 sixes in 18-ball-53, the global first-class record was broken after 129 years.

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