Kolkata, Feb 1: Pacers Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal and Sumit Mohanta shared seven wickets between them to power Bengal to an innings and 13-run win over Punjab in their Elite Group C match here on Saturday.
The bonus point victory helped Bengal to finish third in their group in this season’s Ranji Trophy.
Bengal have 21 points from all seven matches, sitting behind already-qualified Kerala (28) and Haryana (26) in the standings.Starting from their overnight 64 for three, Punjab could not resist Bengal pacers Jaiswal (4/69) and Mohanta (3/29) and caved in for 139 in 35.4 overs.
Skipper Mayank Markande offered a token resistance with a 25-ball 31. Bengal wrapped up their Ranji Trophy campaign on a high note with a dominant innings victory over Punjab, securing a third-place finish in Elite Group C. Despite falling short of the knockout stage, their strong showing in the final match underlined the team’s depth in pace bowling.
Nishant ton gives Haryana command
At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Nishant Sindhu hammered 165 off just 184 balls (15×4, 4×6) as Haryana piled 450 in their first innings, taking a lead of 146 runs over Karnataka.
India batter KL Rahul made 43 off 67 balls (7×4), while Devdutt Padikkal remained unbeaten on 41 off 61 balls, as Karnataka meandered to 108 for three in 32 overs in their second innings.The hosts now trail by 38 runs going into the final day. Karnataka are already out of contention for a knockout phase berth.
Brief scores: At Kolkata: Punjab: 191 all out and 139 all out in 35.4 overs (Anmolpreet Singh 30, Mayank Markande 31) lost to Bengal: 343 all out in 92.4 overs by an innings and 13 runs.
At Bengaluru: Karnataka: 304 and 108/3 in 32 overs (KL Rahul 43, Devdutt Padikkal (batting) 41) vs Haryana (O/n: 232/5): 450 all out in 115.3 overs (Ankit Kumar 118, Nishant Sindhu 165; Prasidh Krishna 3/105, Hardik Raj 3/73).
At Indore: Madhya Pradesh: 670/7 declared vs Uttar Pradesh: 404/2 in 105 overs (Abhishek Goswami 186, Aryan Juyal (batting) 96, Madhvan Kaushik 80). (PTI)
