Ranji Trophy: Bengal will strive to maintain winning run in its first match at the Eden

Backed by the momentum of its early upsurge, Bengal will begin as the favourite in its Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C contest against Maharashtra starting here on Monday.

Following three outright wins, table-topper Bengal returns to the Eden Gardens for the first time this season with 18 points in its kitty. The confident home outfit needs to sustain its positive brand of cricket to stop second-placed Maharashtra, which has done well to secure 12 points through a six-pointer and two first-innings leads.

Sudip Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed — who struck a century in the previous match — and Abishek Porel have got runs under their belts. Captain Abhimanyu Easwaran and his new opening partner Ankur Paul will be keen to convert their starts into big knocks, while the experienced Sudip Chatterjee will look to make an impact. Sumanta Gupta will be encouraged by his handy contributions.

The host will most likely go with a three pacer-two spinner combination with the experienced Mohammed Shami leading the pack of speedsters. In-form spinners Shahbaz, who has dazzled with his all-round skills since his return against Services, and Pradipta Pramanik, who captured 10 wickets against Kerala, are capable of troubling any opposition.

Maharashtra, comprising some younger players, has relied heavily on Ankit Bawne, who has scored two centuries, and Digvijay Patil in batting. Harshad Kate and Saurabh Nawale have shown glimpses of their ability by getting half-centuries in its drawn affair against Gujarat. Captain Prithvi Shaw, who has scored a 70, would like to pile runs against the formidable host.

Pacers Pradeep Dadhe and Rajyavardhan Hangrekar and spinners Vicky Otswal and Siddhesh Veer have served the visitors well.

On a sporting pitch with a lush green outfield, both sides will look to secure maximum points from this crucial contest before the break, although the forecast of rain poses a mild threat.