da casino： There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 allout against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home
Anand Vasu14-Dec-2000There was no joy for Tripura on Thursday as they slipped to 116 allout against Assam in their East Zone Ranji Trophy encounter at home.On winning the toss at the Maharaja Bir Bikram College Stadium inAgartala, Assam skipper SZ Suffri put the home side in to bat. It wasa decision that paid rich dividends at the close of play on the firstday. Left arm spinner Sukhbinder Singh was quite unplayable. Returningthe amazing figures of 15-7-15-5, Sukhbinder ran through the Tripurabatting lineup. Picking up wickets that spanned from the openingbatsman to the last man, Sukhbinder made sure that the highestindividual score was restricted to S Dasgupta’s 42. AlthoughSukhbinder’s performance was the one that stood out, left arm seamerGautam Dutta with 3/30 gave a good account of himself.In response, the Assam side encountered no problems. Although PJ Daswas run out after he had made 28 (57 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) the firstwicket partnership was already worth 52. When stumps was called, Assamwere motoring on at a healthy 79 for 1. Skipper Zufri, coming in atone drop was unbeaten on 21. The other opener, SB Saikia had helpedhimself to a slow but steady 25 (96 balls) and he too was unconquered.Assam are in a good position, and some steady batting from them on thesecond and third days should see them take the initiative.