Ranji Trophy | Vihari’s classy century takes Tripura close to Bengal’s tally Today Sports News

On Monday, it would have dawned on Tripura’s Manisankar Murasingh what the then India captain Virat Kohli had meant when he said: “The dressing room feels calm when Hanuma Vihari is batting,” after the 2019 West Indies series.

During a third-round Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C fixture against Bengal at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium here, Vihari was at his elegant best as he pulled Tripura out of the gallows with a clinical 25th First Class hundred.

And just like that, the home team, which had avoided a follow-on earlier, stood within touching distance of its opponent’s first-innings score at the end of the day’s play.

The former Andhra batter, who emerged from the dugout when the scoreboard showed 29 for two, saw Tripura slip further and lose half the side for 53. It was then that Vihari dropped anchor, playing each ball to its merit. There was no innovative shot-making, only archetypal textbook cricket. Maybe the only time he felt like having a bit of fun was in the 22nd over when he waltzed down the track to dispatch Shahbaz Ahmed’s flighted delivery over the umpire’s head.

The timely partnerships with debutant Sentu Sarkar, Vijay Shankar, and Murasingh helped.

Abishek Porel wore the black hat to help Vihari’s cause. He dropped the India international twice — the second one, right after Vihari scored his fifty, should have been a regulation take behind the sticks.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami’s Test bid was dealt a blow after he returned wicketless post seven spells of full-blooded pace bowling under the blazing sun. His brother, Mohammad Kaif, fared better with four scalps.

With Tripura only 63 behind Bengal’s mark, Shahbaz may have been left mulling over what could have been if he had survived longer than five deliveries in the first session of the third day.

The scores: Bengal — 1st innings: Sudip Kumar Gharami c Sentu b Rana 108, Kazi Junaid Saifi c Sentu b Abhijit 0, Shakir Habib Gandhi c (sub) Rajat b Murasingh 95, Anustup Majumdar c Sentu b Murasingh 6, Abishek Porel c Sentu b Rana 11, Sumanta Gupta b Rana 5, Shahbaz Ahmed b Murasingh 40, Rahul Prasad b Swapnil 35, Mohammad Kaif b Bikram 0, Mohammed Shami c & b Bikram 5, Ishan Porel (not out) 0; Extras: (b-20, lb-10, w-1): 31; Total (in 115.5 overs): 336.

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-213, 3-237, 4-249, 5-255, 6-262, 7-323, 8-326, 9-336.

Tripura bowling: Murasingh 27.5-7-56-3, Abhijit 22-3-64-1, Rana 23-5-76-3, Bikramjit 11-2-24-0, Swapnil 18-1-51-1, Vijay Shankar 6-2-9-0, Sridam 2-0-10-0, Bikram 6-0-16-2.

Tripura — 1st innings: Bikram Kumar Das b Kaif 19, Hrituraj Ghosh Roy b Ishan 5, Sridam Paul b Kaif 6, Hanuma Vihari (batting) 121, Bikramjit Debnath lbw Kaif 0, Swapnil Singh st. Abishek b Shahbaz 4, Sentu Sarkar lbw b Rahul 20, Vijay Shankar c Abishek b Kaif 34, Manisankar Murasingh (batting) 42; Extras: (nb-3, b-9, lb-7, w-3): 22; Total (for seven wkts. in 78 overs): 273.

Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-29, 3-35, 4-35, 5-53, 6-93, 7-200.

Bengal bowling: Shami 19-1-70-0, Ishan 17-5-45-1, Kaif 19-4-53-4, Shahbaz 15-0-53-1, Rahul 8-0-36-1.

Published – November 03, 2025 07:06 pm IST