Uttar Pradesh in command

In stark contrast to the 12 wickets that tumbled on the opening day, the second day saw the UP batsmen resolutely running the show, securing 309 runs losing just 5 wickets. At stumps, Praveen Kumar was unbeaten on a typically maverick 50 that came off 71 balls, and keeping him company is stumper Amir Khan 30 off 75 balls.

Already pushing Bengal to the brink with an innings result looming large, the UP think-tank doesn8217;t want its opponents yet to gauge their next move. Which is exactly why UP expectedly stayed away from declaring their first innings yet, but dropped enough indications that their new ball bowlers would be called upon to strangle the Bengal batting for a second time in the match.

As ace leggie in the UP team, Piyush Chawla, said after today8217;s play, there8217;s enough time left for not just a result but even an innings win. 8220;We are in the driver8217;s seat clearly, full credit for that to the batsmen, particularly Kaif. At this stage, I think we should be able to wrap up the match in another one and a half days. That should be time enough, given the way we are placed,8221; said Chawla, who carved out a patient 53 and put on 86 runs for the 6th wicket with skipper Kaif.

Chief national selector Dilip Vengsarkar dropped in for the match, and Kaif and Raina must be ruing the fact that they failed to score centuries here. Irrespective of the lop-sidedness of the match, burly Bengal pacer Shib Sankar Paul eked out a hard-earned 5 for 99 in 29 overs.

Meanwhile, Manoj Tiwary has been docked 50 per cent of his match fee and charged with a Level I offence for showing dissent after being given out leg-before yesterday. Match referee IS Sachdeva meanwhile officially warned Ranadeb Bose and Praveen Kumar for on-field misbehaviour.

Brief scores: Bengal 149 vs UP 437/7 Md Kaif 91, Suresh Raina 63, Piyush Chawla 53, Praveen Kumar batting 50, Amir Khan batting 30; SS Paul 5/99.