Middle order batsman Mahinder Singh Dhoni's sparkling unbeaten 114 went in vain as Bihar faced an uphill task to save the match after being forced to follow on the penultimate day of their Ranji Trophy tie against Bengal at the Eden Gardens here today.

Resuming at their overnight score of 107 for three in reply to Bengal's mammoth total of 608 for five declared, Dhoni played a valiant knock to remain undefeated till the end as Bihar's first innings folded up for 323 about 45 minutes before close of play.

Forced to follow on, Bihar were struggling at 16 for one at stumps losing the wicket of opener Zishan-Ul-Yaquin for a duck. Nikhilesh Ranjan (6) and captain Rajiv Kumar (10) were at the crease at close of play on a wicket which was still quite good for batting.

Dhoni, who has been in good nick this season, was a picture of concentration as he handled the pacemen and the spinners with ease while wickets kept tumbling at the other end. Tariqur Rehman was the other notable contributor for the visitors with a power-packed 59.

Mixing caution with aggression, Dhoni struck as many as 17 boundaries during his long 261-minute vigil at the crease and help his team cross the 300 mark which looked quite doubtful at one stage.

Seasoned left arm spinner Utpal Chatterjee (5 for 60) was the most successful bowler for Bengal while off-spinner Sourasish Lahiri captured three wickets. Pacemen Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Shib Shankar Pal chipped in with one wicket each.

© PTI