Bengal bowlers (from left) Ashok Dinda, Ranadeb Bose and Sourav Sarkar, who took two wickets each against Punjab in Siliguri on Day I of their Ranji Trophy match. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri: Bengal, backed by some good bowling, were in a satisfactory position at the end of Day I of the Ranji Trophy Super League match with Punjab at the Kanchenjungha Stadium on Saturday. Electing to bat, Punjab were restricted to 210 for seven at stumps.

Openers Ravneet Ricky and Karan Goel showed early promise but lost the plot as the day wore on, especially after tea break when four wickets fell in quick succession. Goel top-scored for Punjab on Saturday, and was the only batsman to cross 50, though he got a life in the fourth over. Goel was dropped by the wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.

As many as 48 runs (in his 56) came from the boundaries, much to the delight of a sizeable crowd, mostly youths, that had actually turned out to see Yuvraj Singh at the crease.

But the Twenty20 World Cup hero had been suddenly struck with vomiting and dysentery overnight, requiring a doctor to be summoned to his hotel room here after midnight. According to coach and manager Gursharan Singh, he had lost a lot of fluids and had to be put on intravenous drip. He left for Calcutta by an afternoon flight.

Bengal bowlers did well. Initially pacers Ranadeb Bose, Sourav Sarkar and Ashok Dinda kept the scoring rate under three runs per over. They were joined later by off-spinner Sourashish Lahiri.

Ranadeb had the first scalp with a deceptive in-swinger that nicked Ricky’s bat and went into the safe hands of ’keeper Saha when the score was 78. Eight balls later, newcomer Ravinder Singh was caught at the gully by Soham Ghosh off a Dinda delivery that pitched outside the off stump.

Goel was then engaged in another partnership with captain Pankaj Dharmani before the former’s middle stump was uprooted by a gem of a delivery from Dinda. The ball was slightly overpitched and Goel tried to play over it, missed the bounce and was bowled.

Punjab, now, will seek to score as many runs before the tailenders come in on the second day, while Bengal will try to drive home whatever advantage gained on the opening day, especially with the new ball just five overs old.

Bengal captain Laxmi Ratan Shukla later felt Bengal's performance was “positive”. “Our bowlers did a good job,” he said.

His Punjab counterpart Pankaj Dharmani said: “The game is still evenly poised.”