Kolkata, Dec 15 (PTI) Opener Koushik Ghosh hit an unbeaten 69, while Anustup Majumdar also remained not out on 44 as Bengal closed in on an outright win over Uttar Pradesh in a Group A Ranji Trophy match here on Thursday.

Bengal were 156 for 2 in their second innings at stumps on the third day, still needing 101 runs on the final day on Friday.

Ghosh hit 10 boundaries during his 121-ball unbeaten knock, while Majumdar struck six fours.

Besides the duo, Sudip Kumar Gharami made 22.

Right-arm pacer Shivam Mavi (2/46) picked up both the wickets.

Earlier, resuming Uttar Pradesh’s second innings at 122 for 4, Rinku Singh added 45 runs to his overnight score before being dismissed for 89, while Akashdeep Nath made 53.

Opener Madhav Kaushik (19) was the only other Uttar Pradesh batter to register a double-digit score.

UP added 105 runs for the loss of six wickets in their overnight score to be bowled out for 222 in 65.3 overs.

Bengal right-arm medium pacer Akash Deep (3/52) scalped three wickets, while Sayan Mondal (2/24), Pritam Chakraborty (2/48) and Ishan Porel (2/70) picked up two wickets each.

Rinku turned out to be the star performer with the bat for Uttar Pradesh with knocks of 79 and 89 in the two innings.

Brief Scores: At Kolkata: Uttar Pradesh 198 and 222 all out in 65.3 overs (Rinku Singh 89, Akshdeep Nath 53) vs Bengal 169 and 156 for 2 in 42 overs (Koushil Ghosh 69 not out, Anustup Majumdar 44 not out; Shivan Mavi 2/46). Bengal trail by 100 runs.

At Sovima: Uttarakhand 282 and 127 for 1 in 30 overs (Priyanshu Khanduri 52 not out, Kunal Chandela 37 not out; Akash Singh 1/29) vs Nagaland 389 (Shrikant Mundhe 161, Yugandhar Singh 73; Swapnil Singh 5/47). Uttarakhand lead by 20 runs.

At Cuttack: Odisha 457 all out in 154.2 overs (Debabrata Pradhan 89, Abhishek Raut 70, Shantanu Mishra 61, Subhranshu Senapati 52; Ninad Rathva 5/106) vs Baroda 416 for 5 in 115 overs (Shashwat Rawat 135, Priyanshu Moliya 113 not out, Jyotsnil Singh 63; Basant Mohanty 2/31). Baroda trail by 41 runs.

At Rohtak: Haryana 46 and 323 for 7 in 112.2 overs (Chaitanya Bishnoi 97, Himanshu Rana 87; Sidharth Sharma 2/43) vs Himachal Pradesh 487/4 decl in 130.2 overs (Raghav Dhawan 182, Prashant Chopra 137, Amit Kumar 81; Chaitanya Bishnoi 2/15). Haryana trail by 118 runs.

Source: PTI News