Himanshu Rana’s composed hundred and Yashvardhan Dalal’s counter-attacking century gave Haryana a strong start to the red-ball season, putting Bengal on the backfoot on the opening day of the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament at AM Jain College in Chennai on Monday.
Dalal struck four sixes and 10 fours in his 141-ball 120, building key partnerships with Rana and later Kanishk Chauhan to lift Haryana to 415 for nine in the allotted 90 overs. Coming in at five, Dalal added 82 off just 90 balls with Rana, capitalising on easier batting conditions under the afternoon sun.
When Bengal hit back with quick wickets, Dalal found support from number eight batter Chauhan after Haryana had slipped to 249 for six. Chauhan made a fluent 47 before edging Nuruddin Mandal behind. Dalal then added 75 in only 43 balls with Ajay Singh to give Haryana the momentum heading into the second day.
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Bengal will rue missing an opportunity after choosing to bowl first under overcast skies as a morning drizzle delayed the start by 30 minutes. The new ball offered swing and seam, and Haryana lost both openers inside the first hour. Captain Ankit Kumar was bowled by a Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal nip-backer, while Lakshya Dalal was run out after a mix-up with Rana.
Rana steadied the innings with Nishant Sindhu in a 118-run stand for the third wicket. As conditions brightened, the pair rotated strike comfortably, while the Bengal spinners — Rahul Prasad, Vikash Singh, and Vishal Bhati — struggled to find rhythm and erred in length. With three boundary riders posted, gaps in the field made strike rotation easy. Rana finished on 100 from 141 deliveries
Sindhu, fluent through the covers, struck 10 fours in his 74 before miscuing Vikas to mid-off. Rana carried on to a composed hundred, reaching the mark in 138 balls, but was stumped off Prasad three deliveries later. The off-spinner struck again to remove Parth Vats and later held a sharp diving catch at cover to dismiss Sumit Kumar.
