Tiwary to lead, Saha unlikely in Bengal vs Delhi

Seniormost player Manoj Tiwary will be back as Bengal captain in absence of Abhimanyu Easwaran in their upcoming Ranji Trophy match against Delhi at Eden Gardens from Monday. Easwaran, who was appointed skipper at the beginning of the season replacing Tiwary, is travelling to New Zealand for India A commitments. Tiwary became the only second from Bengal to hit a triple century as his 303 not out sealed a massive innings and 303 runs win over Hyderabad in their last match at Kalyani, which was their first home win of the season.

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) had requested Tiwary to Bengal and he has duly agreed to take the responsibility against Delhi which will be their last home outing of the season. "Tiwary has agreed to lead the side. The team will be announced on Friday," CAB joint secretary Debabrata Das told PTI. Bengal are also "unlikely" to get the services of India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, who is undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) after recuperating from a finger surgery for a fracture sustained on his ring finger during the Day/Night against Bangladesh here in November.

The BCCI had earlier advised Saha to skip the fixture but the Das had requested the Board to allow the Bengal wicketkeeper for their last home league match of the season. "But he is unlikely to be available as he's undergoing rehab," Das added. Delhi stunned defending champions Vidarbha by six wickets in thrilling 347-run chase with Nitish Rana smashing a 68-ball 105 not out. Their big win propelled Bengal (19 points from five matches) to third spot in the cross-pool. Delhi are placed eighth in the standings with 16 points from five matches.