A spirited Bengal downed bitter foes Railways by 48 runs in their controversy-filled match to set up a Ranji Trophy semifinal clash against Maharashtra, at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
Set a target of 271, Railways were bundled out for 222 in 83.3 overs with laxmi Ratan Shukla leading from the front taking 3/45.
Also, Ashoke Dinda (2/77), Sourav Sarkar (2/22) and Shib Shankar Paul (2/47) returned with two apiece to take Bengal to the semis for the first time since 2006-07.
Needing 154 to win at the start of the day, Railways most trusted batting combination of Mahesh Rawat (14) and Arindam Ghosh (50) looked to threaten the Bengal camp under overcast conditions after Dinda gave the first breakthrough in the 10th over in the form of Nitin Bhille (5).
But it was once again the Bengal skipper who stood out, this time with the ball to send back Rawat while the veteran Paul, with his immaculate line and length, forced danger man Ghosh to make an error derailing the Railways.
Ghosh’s finely executed innings of 50 from 107 balls with eight fours came to an end after he was deceived by a fine late outswinger from Paul.
In fact, Bengal dropped four catches -- by lahiri, Shukla, Dinda and Arnab Nandi to prolong their wait.
Paul broke into an impromptu ‘Gangnam Style’ jig after dismissing Karn Sharma while Sarkar wiped off the tail with two wickets in two balls after the new ball was taken in the 82nd over.
Sarkar knocked Ranjit Mali’s leg stump for a first ball duck as the entire Bengal team jumped in celebration and was joined by the support staff.
Watched by a more than 2000 strong Sunday crowd, the entire Bengal contingent also did a victory lap in what was their last match at Eden this season.
Playing without their their main batsman and regular skipper Manoj Tiwary, India pacer Mohammad Shami and Wriddhiman Saha, who missed four matches due to national duty in South Africa, the Shukla-led Bengal were almost written off following their mediocre performances in the early stages.
But the depleted showed fine team spirit as they came back strongly with back to back wins against Uttar Pradesh (home) and Tamil Nadu (away) in their last two league fixtures to make the quarters as the third team from group B.
Now with Tiwary expected to be in the semis line-up and Saha back in his elements after two half-centuries against in the match, Bengal would certainly fancy their chances against Maharashtra in their chase for a third Ranji title.
Brief Scores
Bengal: 317 and 267 (Saha 81, Shukla 76, Anureet 5-72) beat Railways: 314 and 222 (Kartik 56, Ghosh 50) by 48 runs. actor enters Eden turf after match, ACSU takes notice
BCCI’s Anti Corruption & Security Unit (ACSU) today took note of an actor belonging to Bengali film industry entering the Eden Gardens playing arena just after Bengal won their Ranji Trophy quarter-final against Railways here on Sunday.
An actor named Jeet, who is a popular Bengali film hero, was sitting in the Bengal dug-out during the final few overs of the match and as soon as the game finished, he rushed onto the field to congratulate the players.
Jeet is known to be a close friend of Bengal captain laxmi Ratan Shukla. But no one in the media had any clue as to why the actor was allowed to sit in the post-match media conference where senior players Ashoke Dinda and Wriddhiman Saha had come to address the scribes.
The official from BCCI ACSU had taken a note of the incident. According to that official, entering the ground after the match is over is not a “breach of protocol” but the dressing room and player’s area needs to be sanitised during the course of the match. “The ICC guidelines say that the dressing room and playing arena is “sanitised” from the first ball to the last ball, that’s the norm. But since it’s the home team’s dressing room and the property belongs to them, they can allow anyone they want to.
“Nonetheless, I’ve taken a note of the incident which will be reported to the BCCI,” the ACSU official said.