Kolkata: 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 today.
Gopal spins Karnataka to an emphatic win
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.
Eleven times Ranji runners-up Bengal had lost to Mumbai by 132 runs in a one-sided Ranji final in 2006-07. Bengal had also made the Ranji final in the previous season (2005-06) only to go down to Uttar Pradesh.
Snubbed by his home state where he played only six matches five seasons ago, Ghosh almost snatched the match with his solid innings.
Having switched sides to Railways, the Barasat-lad, who already had a double century and a hundred besides three half-centuries from eight outings, was in full flow.
With Railways batting mainstay Rawat who approached his innings in his usual unruffled way, Ghosh frustrated the home camp. They were also subjected to some mind gamed by Dinda and Co but the duo kept cool.
After surviving some intense moments, Rawat opened his account with a copybook straight drive to long on boundary.
He repeated the same shot against Dinda from the high court end while Sarkar was brilliantly pulled by Ghosh in the next over as Railways raced to 153/4 at the first drinks, 118 runs shy of the target.
Around that time, Sourav Ganguly came in to the stadium to a huge roar but with the Railways pair of Rawat and Ghosh brilliantly steadying the ship the former India captain did not stay long.
Rawat was bowled for 14 off 28 balls after playing on to the stumps in Shukla's second over of the day, in a breakthrough that tilted the match towards Bengal.
Overcast conditions forced a delay of one hour and 16 minutes and Railways resumed the day for 117 for three with Nitin Bhille and Ghosh making amends for their top order collapse.
Malhotra has inspired us a lot, says Shukla
Malhotra has inspired us a lot, says Shukla
Kolkata: Effusive in his praise of coach Ashok Malhotra, Bengal players today said the former batsman was a role model for the team as they made the Ranji Trophy semifinals for the first time after 2006-07.
"Paaji (Malhotra) inspires us a lot. Even if someone is running high temperature, he inspires him," Bengal skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla said after their 48-run win over Railways here.
"I am not going to compare him with previous coaches, but Paaji is an inspiration to us. He has played such great cricket too. We have tried to do well and we have succeeded, but long way to go," Shukla said of the 56-year-old, who was part of their famous Ranji Trophy winning team in 1989-90.
Wicketkeeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha, who returned from national duty, to contribute to Bengal's win with two half centuries too was all praise for the Bengal coach. "This has given us great confidence. Paaji had told me to just stay there and bat for time. I managed to do that. We are all friends and we are playing well for the same cause," Saha said.
Saha also praised Shukla, who led from the front in Manoj Tiwary's absence both with bat and bowl to contribute immensely to Bengal's road to the semis. "He gives us 100 per cent. No one is a captain in our side. Everyone is a captain. We all take decisions together," Saha said in a joint press conference with Shukla and Ashoke Dinda.
Showing a great camaraderie, Shukla said he wanted the duo along with Mohammad Shami to see only in India colours. "I have said before that I don't want to see Wriddhi and Dinda and Shami in the dressing room. I want to see them playing for India. The more they play for India, the more proud we will feel. Wriddhi will be there for the semis. Happy with that."
Despite getting the Board's best allrounder award, Shukla has been overlooked by the national selectors. Asked had he stopped thinking about making an India comeback, Shukla was interrupted by Dinda who said: "We all want him to be in India dressing room, so that I can be the captain."
In the same vein, Shukla went on to praise the young duo of Sudip Chatterjee and Abhimanyu Easwaran, the other two performers in Bengal's fairy tale Ranji campaign. "Very happy with the youngsters. The way they controlled things from 3 for 2. I am very happy. I hope they continue. They are starting out. Everyone is trying to play well. I hope the remainder of the journey is good too. We want to improve too. We will sit down and discuss everything."
Referring to other three quarters that were over in four days, Shukla also gave due credit to bitter foes Railways, against whom Bengal had an ill-tempered outing both at the league stage and during this game.
"Only ours went into five days. Credit to Railways. They topped our group and were a superb team. I had said at the start that this would be a tough match, but we were desperate to win. However, we never thought of revenge".
Railways might have been subjected to a hostile Eden crowd but they were graceful in their Ranji quarters defeat today. Terming them an intelligent cricket crowd, Sharma today said:"The crowd were fantastic in allt he five days. The understood the game of cricket, although they always supported the home side."
Sharma also thanked CAB president Jagmohan Dalmiya for deploying extra security after Murali Kartik and pacer Anureet Singh were heckled by fans on day three. "He (Dalmiya) took extra pain to deploy a strict security after the incident. We're thankful to him."
The Railways coach Sharma further credited Bengal for their achievement. "It's a fantastic achievement, they played some good cricket. Our batting was not up to the mark in the second innings."
