All-round present: Shahbaz was named the Participant of the Match for his 4 wickets and 92 runs.
| Photograph Credit score: SANDEEP SAXENA
His four-wicket haul helps the guests squeeze a 11-run win in a contest the place the pendulum swung forwards and backwards; skipper Shubham and Venkatesh half-centuries show futile
In a contest that was in focus due to Mohammed Shami’s comeback, left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed hogged the limelight with a four-wicket haul and propelled Bengal to an exhilarating 11-run win over Madhya Pradesh on the Holkar Stadium right here on Saturday.
On the ultimate day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C match, with the host needing 188 runs and the guests requiring seven wickets for victory, the momentum swung backward and forward earlier than Bengal held its nerve to clinch the cliffhanger.
Madhya Pradesh, resuming from 150 for 3, stuttered within the first 45 minutes because the Bengal seamers stored it tight.
Shami uprooted Rajat Patidar’s off stump off the third ball of the day and his brother Mohammed Kaif had southpaw Harpreet Singh Bhatia brilliantly caught by substitute wicketkeeper Shakir Habib Gandhi – who was placed on responsibility on day three after Wriddhiman Saha harm his finger – to provide Bengal an upper-hand.
Nonetheless, with the pitch easing out, skipper Shubham Sharma (61, 116b, 6×4), who had slender saves and scored boundaries on each side, and Venkatesh Iyer (53, 95b, 8×4), who dominated the leg aspect, gelled nicely and confirmed endurance to attain half-centuries. Their 94-run partnership stored Madhya Pradesh within the contest.
Venkatesh was caught at brief cowl off Rohit Kumar and Shubham was trapped lbw off Shahbaz in fast succession within the post-lunch interval.
Aryan Pandey (22) and Saransh Jain (32) withstood the strain exerted by the Bengal bowlers to collect 62 and take their crew nearer to the goal.
Switching ends, Shahbaz landed the ball within the tough to have Saransh caught at ahead short-leg as Madhya Pradesh took tea at 323 for eight. Shahbaz, named Participant-of-the-Match for his 4 wickets and 92 runs, relied on his accuracy to have Aryan lbw. Shami had Kumar Kartikeya caught at third man earlier than elevating his palms in pleasure.
The scores:
Bengal — 1st innings: 228.
Madhya Pradesh — 1st innings: 167.
Bengal — 2nd innings: 276.
Madhya Pradesh — 2nd innings: Subhransu Senapati b Shahbaz 50, Himanshu Mantri c Shahbaz b Rohit 44, Rajat Patidar b Shami 32, Anubhav Agarwal lbw b Shami 2, Shubham Sharma lbw b Shahbaz 61, Harpreet Singh Bhatia c (sub) Shakir b Kaif 7, Venkatesh Iyer c Gharami b Rohit 53, Aryan Pandey lbw b Shahbaz 22, Saransh Jain c Gharami b Shahbaz 32, Kumar Kartikeya Singh c Rohit b Shami 6, Kulwant Khejroliya (not out) 2; Extras (b-11, lb-1, nb-3): 15; Whole (in 99.2 overs): 326.
Fall of wickets: 1-84, 2-125, 3-128, 4-151, 5-161, 6-255, 7-255, 8-317, 9-324.
Bengal bowling: Shami 24.2-3-102-3, Jaiswal 17-5-35-0, Rohit 14-5-47-2, Shahbaz 19-2-48-4, Kaif 18-3-50-1, Writtick 7-0-32-0.
Printed – November 16, 2024 07:30 pm IST
