Indore, Nov 14 (PTI) Senior India pacer Mohammed Shami marked his long-awaited return to competitive cricket with a four-wicket haul as Bengal bowled out Madhya Pradesh for 167 on day two of their Group C Ranji Trophy clash at Holkar Stadium here on Thursday.
Shami, who was making his first appearance in almost a year after recovering from an Achilles tendon injury, had a quiet start, going wicket-less in his first 10 overs on the opening day.
However, he found his rhythm in the later stages of the MP innings and finished with figures of 4/54 in 19 overs to help Bengal take upper hand in the game.
Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (2/35) and Mohammed Kaif (2/41) each claimed two wickets, while Rohit Kumar (1/27) picked up one.
At stumps, Bengal were 170/5 in 48 overs, extending their overall lead to 231 runs.
Writtick Chatterjee (33) and Wriddhiman Saha (21) were at the crease.
Earlier, Sudip Chatterjee (40) and Sudip Gharami (40) played solid knocks at the top of the order for Bengal but Anubhav Agarwal (3/49) struck back with a three-wicket burst as Bengal lost half their side for 36 runs.
This was after Bengal had been dismissed for 228 in their first innings. The visitors require a win to keep their slim hopes of reaching the quarterfinals alive.
Shami, who last featured in India's ODI World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad on November 19 last year, is eyeing a return to the Indian squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, starting in Perth on November 22.
Resuming at 103/1, MP's batting crumbled as Jaiswal removed the overnight pair of Rajat Patidar (41) and Subranshu Senapati (47).
Shami then joined the party, cleaning up skipper Shubham Sharma (8). He also dismissed Saransh Jain (7), Kumar Kartikeya (9), and Kulwant Khejroliya (0) to complete his four-wicket haul.
Anshul Kamboj shines with record 8/48
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Haryana seamer Anshul Kamboj produced a devastating spell to take all eight wickets as Kerala collapsed to 285/8 in Rohtak.
The 23-year-old from Karnal, who had picked up two wickets on the opening day, continued his spectacular run, removing overnight batters Akshay Chandran (59) and Sachin Baby (52) after they resumed at 138/2.
Jalal Sexena became Kamboj's next victim but Mohammed Azarudden provided some resistance with a knock of 53 while adding 74 runs with Sachin baby.
But Kamboj returned to get rid of both the batters along with MD Nidheesh before bad light forced an early end to the day's play with Shoun Roger (37) and Basil Thampi (4) at the crease.
Brief Scores:
In Indore: Bengal 228 and 170-5 in 48 overs (Sudip Gharami 40, Sudip Chatterjee 40; Anubhav Agarwal 3/49) vs Madhya Pradesh 167 allout in 59 overs (Mohammed Shami 4/54, S Senapati 47).
In Rohtak: Kerala 285/8 in 110 overs (Akshay Chandran (59), Sachin Baby 52; Anshul Kamboj 8/48) vs Haryana.
In Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh 89 & 78 for 1 in 26 overs (Aryan Juyal 35, Vidyadhar Patil 1/25) vs Karnataka 276 allout in 79.5 overs (Krishnan Shrijith 110, Yashovardhan Parantap 55; Aaqib Khan 3/53, Shivam Mavi 3/96).
In Mohali: Bihar 135; 56.2 overs (Ayush Loharuka 63; Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa vs Punjab 262 for 8 in 75 overs (Salil Arora 64; Sakib Hussain 3/92) lead by 127 runs.