Powered by a chanceless unbeaten 97 from skipper Parthiv Patel, Gujarat posted a respectable first innings total of 276 for seven on the opening day of the four-day Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match against Bengal in Kolkata on Sunday.
The wicket became a batting paradise after the first hour's play and the highlight of Gujarat's innings was a 108-run fifth wicket stand between Patel (162b, 241 m, 10x4) and Bhavik Thaker (52) after the initial foundation was laid by opener Nilesh Modi (40).
The other opener, Azhar Bilakhia (17), was trapped leg before by pacer Ashok Dinda (2/55) in the 10th over of the morning before Modi and Niraj Patel (16) put on 50 runs for the second wicket.
Patel was caught plumb before the wicket by Laxmi Ratan Shukla as Gujarat went to lunch at 108 for two.
Eklak Ahmed scalped Modi with another leg before decision in the first over of the post-lunch session, while Dinda castled Timil Patel (14) after he had added 56 for the fourth wicket with Parthiv.
Coming together at 164 for four, Thaker and Parthiv played some scintillating shots during their 96-minute stand that came to an end when Ranadeb Bose (2/53) devoured Thaker (73b, 95m, 9x4).
At this late stage of the day, Gujarat suffered a mini-collapse as Hemal Watekar (1) and Jayesh Makla (0) departed in quick succession.
Three wickets were lost in the space of four runs.
Scorecard
Gujarat (1st innings):
N Modi lbw b E Ahmed 40
A Bilakhia lbw b A Dinda 17
N Patel b L R Shukla 16
P Patel batting 97
T Patel b A Dinda 14
B Thaker c D Dasgupta b R Bose 52
H Watekar c A Chakraborty b R Bose 1
J Makla run out 0
A Singh batting 0
Extras: (b-5, lb-19, nb-11, w-4) 39
Total: (For 7 wkts, 77 overs) 276
Fall of wickets: 1-29, 2-79, 3-108, 4-164, 5-272, 6-274, 7-276
Bowling: R Bose 21-5-53-2, A Dinda 16-3-55-2, E Ahmed 10-4-32-1, L R Shukla 11-1-34-1, S Lahiri 11-1-39-0, M Tiwary 4-0-21-0, R Gavaskar 4-0-18-0.
