Bengal’s Karan Lal in action during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match between Bengal and Madhya Pradesh at Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Friday November 29, 2024. Photo : VIJAY SONEJI / THE HINDU
Opening batter Karan Lal continued his spectacular run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as his unbeaten 94 powered Bengal to a nine-wicket win over Bihar in a group-A encounter at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Ground C here on Tuesday.
Chasing 148, Karan hit six sixes and nine fours but missed out on a well-deserved century after the ball flew off Sudip Gharami’s edge and went for four to finish the chase in 14 overs.
Karan’s aggressive knock didn’t allow Bihar bowlers to apply any pressure despite removing Abishek Porel in the third over. Porel hit four fours enroute his 19 off 10 but got caught at covers driving the ball off Prashant Singh.
Captain Gharami played the second fiddle with Karand uring their 122-run stand as Bihar bowlers ran out of ideas to control the scoring rate.
Earlier, Sakibul Gani played a brilliant knock of 79, showcasing a clear gulf between him and the other batters.
After negating Mohammed Shami and Kanishk Seth’s new ball spell, Gani took the game forward on a slow and low surface where boundaries were a luxury.
Gani ran hard and began to accelerate once he crossed his 40s with boundaries against Sayan Ghosh and Seth. The right-hander used the pace to target behind square leg region and looked set to take Bihar close to the 160-run mark.
However, in an attempt to steal a double, Prayas Ray Barman’s direct hit found him short of the crease despite a desperate dive. Gani remained on his knees knowing his fate, and got a pat on the back by Shami, before slowly walking back to the pavilion.
After his wicket in the 18th over, Bihar could only add 13 runs more to finish on 147 for six.
In the other game, Hyderabad suffered another middle-order collapse and fell seven runs short of Madhya Pradesh’s 179-run target.
From 125 for three to 143 for seven, Hyderabad lost four wickets within 16 balls including the big wicket of Tilak Varma, who scored 46 off 34 balls.
MP’s new opening pair of Subhransu Senapati and Harsh Gawali added 92 runs to lay a strong platform for the rest to take the team to 178 for eight.
Published – December 04, 2024 06:28 am IST
