Deep Dasgupta struck a captain's knock of 171 and Laxmi Ratan Shukla got his maiden Ranji hundred as Bengal piled up a 276-run lead against Baroda on the third day of the five-day Ranji Trophy Elite semifinal in Kolkata on Sunday.
The hosts, starting the day at 246 for five, lost only one wicket throughout the proceedings to finish at 517 for six and thus move closer to a place in the final.
Dasgupta (overnight batting 50) scored his individual highest in Ranji outings with a chanceless 171 (357 b, 520 mins) that was decorated with 21 hits to the fences.
Progressing well towards a double century, the right hander gifted his wicket with a momentary loss of focus as he dished out a catch to wicketkeeper Pinal Shah off a mild outswinger from Sekhar Joshi in the last session.
Shukla, on the other end, bagged his first hundred (batting 137; 353 b, 447 mins, 19x4; 1x6) in his Ranji career with an uncharateristic cautious display and remained at the crease alongwith newcomer Sourashsih Lahiri (batting 7).
The duo, who displayed patience and focussed on picking up the soft deliveries for big hits, stitched a massive 314 run sixth-wicket partnership on a flat wicket at the Eden Gardens.
With the track looking placid, Baroda bowlers failed to cut any mark and apparently lost their steam out in the post-lunch sessions.
Happy at the day's outcome, Dasgupta said the hosts, though looking poised for a berth in the final due to a first innings lead, would not hurry for an outright win and rather go steady with their innings on the morrow.
Scorecard:
Baroda 241 all out
Bengal 1st innings
A Das c Shah b Patel 0
S Das c & b Y Pathan 115
A Jhunjhunwala lbw b Patel 0
M Tiwary c Y Pathan b Pawar 35
K Mondal lbw b Pawar 5
D Dasgupta c Shah b Joshi 171
L Shukla not out 137
S Lahiri not out 7
Extras (b 19, lb 9, nb 19) 47
Total (6 wickets, 180 overs) 517
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-10, 3-108, 4-128, 5-191, 6-505
Bowling: Patel 36-9-107-2 (6nb), I Pathan 25-6-68-0, Joshi 25-6-65-1, Pawar 52-13-113-2 (12nb), Y Pathan 27-7-71-1, Bhoite 11-0-52-0, Solanki 4-0-13-0
