“We will focus on following the process and executing our plan” – Bengal captain Anustup Majumdar

After a comprehensive nine-wicket victory against Odisha on the opening day of the 2021 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Bengal skipper Anustup Majumdar emphasised the need to stick to the basics.

Bengal will take on Ishan Kishan’s Jharkhand in an Elite Group B encounter on Tuesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In contrast to Bengal’s win, Jharkhand went down to a 66-run defeat against Tamil Nadu on Sunday.

Majumdar, however, is not taking them lightly and highlighted the presence of more IPL-playing players in Jharkhand’s ranks.

"Jharkhand lost their last game but they have quality players in their team, some play the IPL also. Ishan Kishan, Varun Aaron, Shahbaz Nadeem are there, it's a strong team," noted Majumdar.

"We'll give it the same importance as the last match. The boys have given their hundred percent against Odisha and will be doing the same on Tuesday. We will focus on following the process and executing our plan," added Majumdar.

Jharkhand boasts the services of Ishan Kishan, Saurabh Tiwary, Anukul Roy. All three players are part of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. They also have Shahbaz Nadeem and Varun Aaron, who are part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals teams, respectively.

Bengal, on the other hand, have only two players in their ranks who play in the IPL. Shreevats Goswami plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad Shahbaz Ahmed is a part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore setup.

Also see:- Mustaq Ali score

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The main thing is to deliver our best at that moment: Bengal skipper

Anustup Majumdar (R) with head coach Arun Lal (L) during a training session.[Image Credits: CAB]

Bengal kickstarted their 2021 domestic season at the Jadavpur University Salt Lake campus. The 2020 Ranji finalists now will lock horns with Jharkhand at the iconic Eden Gardens.

The Bengal skipper, however, isn’t worried about the change in location. He shed light on the exposure his team got while playing the inaugural Bengal T20 Challenge at the Eden Gardens last month.

"We are not thinking much about that as the wicket will be the same for both the teams tomorrow. But, yes, we know that wicket. We have played a whole tournament there recently, but some players missed out though. Saying all that, the main thing is to deliver our best at that moment," said Anustup Majumdar.

Bengal are currently perched atop Elite Group B while Jharkhand are languishing one place above the bottom spot. With only one side from each group set to qualify for the knockout stages, Bengal will want to carry their winning momentum into the game while their Eastern neighbours can’t afford any further delays in hitting their stride.