East fightback, but miles to go

East Zone pacers Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda used the early morning conditions better than their Western counterparts had on Thursday to keep their team in with a chance in the Duleep Trophy semifinal, reports G Krishnan.

East Zone pacers Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda used the early morning conditions better than their Western counterparts had on Thursday to keep their team in with a chance in the Duleep Trophy semifinal.

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The Bengal duo took three early wickets, including those of the overnight pair of Bhavik Thakkar and Cheteshwar Pujara, and Parthiv Patel. Yet, East still found themselves on the backseat when the day ended as two sizeable partnerships helped West take a first innings lead of 111.

However, the East batsmen could not continue with the fightback, as three wickets fell with the lead of only 17 in the second innings. Skipper Shiv Sundar Das (56) and Rashmi Ranjan Parida (47) put on a partnership of 96 before falling in successive overs.

Earlier, Dinda struck in the day’s third delivery, exposing Pujara’s weakness to bounce and movement. Parthiv edged Bose to Manoj Tiwary, while Thakkar was run out by Dinda.