From losing to Kerala by nine wickets at the Eden, to travelling all the way to Chennai and digging out a one-wicket win over a formidable Tamil Nadu side — Bengal have risen from the ashes to resurrect their Ranji Trophy campaign.

Team mentor Arun Lal agreed that the win came as a big relief, but at the same time insisted that there was much work still to be done.

“Yes, I am relieved. We needed this win. We have a good team, a talented group of players, but we were not playing to our potential. We were performing much below our strength. So this turnaround will definitely help us,” Lal told The Telegraph on Sunday.

Lal, a former India player, spoke about how the players “showed heart” to take home full points from the match.

“We showed strength of character. It was a very difficult match, we had to fight hard, but we responded to the challenge well. It was a complete team effort and everybody contributed. The players showed heart and that brought us six points. Obviously, an outright win always helps. It’s a fantastic win and a morale booster for the boys,” Lal said.

While praising Manoj Tiwary’s team for their courageous cricket, Lal also pointed out the areas that needed attention.

“There are of course areas where we need to tighten up. Precisely, I will speak of three things — fitness, mental toughness and batting. We are just not batting well enough,” the former Bengal captain said.

Asked if a one-wicket win is as effective as one by a bigger margin to lift the players’ confidence, Lal said: “I would say such a win has even a greater effect. It was almost as if we were fighting for a lost cause after we conceded the first-innings lead of 70-odd runs. From there, to turn it around and win was a tremendous effort.”

Lal had good things to say about opener Abhishek Raman, middle-order batsman Sudip Chatterjee and captain Tiwary.

“Raman was stunning in this match. His fighting 98 in the first innings kept us in the game and an aggressive 53 in the second turned out to be a match-winning knock.

Similarly, Sudip’s innings of 40 was of great significance. It was a wonderful effort which didn’t only help the team, but will also help him regain confidence. He is the pillar of the team and needs to be amongst runs.

“And the captain was fantastic. When the chase looked an uphill task on a tricky fourth-day track, Manoj came forward and said he would go in at No.3, when he has mostly batted at No.4. That set the tone, urged the players to fight.”

Raman, who was adjudged the Man of the Match, said that the atmosphere of the dressing room changed after the second day’s play.

“After we conceded the first-innings lead, we knew we had nothing to lose. So all of us were that much more determined to give it our all and turn the match around. This result will give us more self-belief and the required momentum.”

Lal thinks it is still very difficult to talk about progressing to the next round. “It is still early and the equation is very complicated this year. We can’t lose any match from hereon and then see where it takes us,” he summed it up.

But was he tensed during the closing stages of the game? “I was the most tensed. When you are not playing yourself, you are helpless, you can’t do anything. So there was a lot of tension,” Lal pointed out.