Koushik Ghosh slammed his second first-class century in his comeback game, steering Bengal to 246 for 4 on day one of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group B fixture against Madhya Pradesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
Included in the side as an extra batsman, the left-hander repaid the faith in him with his 189-ball 100 (14x4). Ghosh had last played against Vidarbha in their Ranji match on November 9 in Kalyani last year.
The 26-year-old, along with Abhimanyu Easwaran (86), stitched a 136-run partnership after opener Abhishek Raman (14) got out cheaply in the first session.
But Madhya Pradesh ended the day on a positive note, picking two wickets -- including Ghosh's -- in two overs before bad light stopped play in 82 overs.
Ghosh got out without adding anything to his century and edged one behind the stumps and in the next over Sudip Chatterjee (0) was trapped by leg-spinner Mihir Hirwani.
There would have been further damage but sloppy fielding by Madhya Pradesh came to Bengal's rescue.
At close, Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary was batting on 31 after being dropped twice while his partner Anustup Majumdar (7 batting) got a reprieve once.
Earlier, Bengal had a steady start with openers Raman and Abhimanyu surviving the first hour of play.
It was young pacer Avesh Khan who gave the breakthrough, dismissing Raman as Ghosh was sent ahead of Chatterjee in a bold decision by the Bengal think-tank.
Playing in place of off-spinner Pradipta Pramanik, Ghosh was promoted to number three with Chatterjee dropping down to four.
Making full use of the challenge, Ghosh ensured that there was no further damage as he and Abhimanyu batted out the entire second session.
Brief Scores:
Bengal 246/4; 82 overs (Koushik Ghosh 100, Abhimanyu Easwaran 86, Manoj Tiwari 31 batting) vs Madhya Pradesh.
