KOLKATA: It was business as usual for the Bengal bowlers as they picked up 20 wickets of the opposition for the third match in succession to help the side beat Chandigarh by 152 runs in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group B match at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Sunday.
The Abhimanyu Easwaran-led boys thus made the quarterfinals by topping the group with an all-win record. Incidentally they ended up with the highest number of points (18) among all the Elite group teams which speaks volumes of the side’s performance. Bengal defeated Baroda, Hyderabad and now Chandigarh in their group. What really stood out for the side was the fact that somebody or the other always stood up to the challenge when it mattered.
Chandigarh did put up a brave fight before finally folding up for 206 runs in the last session of play on the last day. Shreshth Nirmohi and Jaskarandeep Singh delayed the inevitable by putting up a 79-run ninth-wicket stand which was broken by part-time bowler Anushtup Majumder. But it was once again the Bengal pacers who did the job with Ishan Porel (3-37), Mukesh Kumar (2-72), Nilkantha Das (2-50) and Sayan Sekhhar Mondol (1-24) sharing eight wickets between them.
Head coach Arun Lal lauded the boys for a superb run. “This team has been really fantastic. They have shown character, spirit and also skill. The boys were highly motivated to finish on the top of the table,” he said. “They have developed a winning habit which will give the boys much confidence going into the knockouts,” he added.
The Abhimanyu Easwaran-led boys thus made the quarterfinals by topping the group with an all-win record. Incidentally they ended up with the highest number of points (18) among all the Elite group teams which speaks volumes of the side’s performance. Bengal defeated Baroda, Hyderabad and now Chandigarh in their group. What really stood out for the side was the fact that somebody or the other always stood up to the challenge when it mattered.
Chandigarh did put up a brave fight before finally folding up for 206 runs in the last session of play on the last day. Shreshth Nirmohi and Jaskarandeep Singh delayed the inevitable by putting up a 79-run ninth-wicket stand which was broken by part-time bowler Anushtup Majumder. But it was once again the Bengal pacers who did the job with Ishan Porel (3-37), Mukesh Kumar (2-72), Nilkantha Das (2-50) and Sayan Sekhhar Mondol (1-24) sharing eight wickets between them.
Head coach Arun Lal lauded the boys for a superb run. “This team has been really fantastic. They have shown character, spirit and also skill. The boys were highly motivated to finish on the top of the table,” he said. “They have developed a winning habit which will give the boys much confidence going into the knockouts,” he added.
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