Bengal and Assam qualifed for the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy cricket tournament after grabbing three and one point respectively from their drawn Group A match here today.
While Bengal had already ensured their place in the quarterfinals after they forced Assam to follow on yesterday, the hosts also managed to sneak into the knockout stage after denying the visitors an outright win, finishing at 143 for 8 on the fourth and final day here.
Bengal and Assam are occupying the second and third place with 28 and 26 points respectively in the Group A points table, headed by Vidarbha with 29 points.
Assam, who had conceded a massive 301-run first innings lead to Bengal, resumed their second innings at 72 for 2 today but they found the going tough as wickets fell at regular intervals. However, the hosts still managed to save the match, courtesy a patient half-century by opener Pallavkumar Das. He hit five fours in his 182-ball innings.
Brief Scores
Bengal: 444/6 declared vs Assam: 143 (PP Das 55; AA Gani 5/62).