Ranji Trophy semifinal: Majumdar, Pramanik steer Bengal to mammoth 547-run lead towards Madhya Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh discovered itself buried underneath a mountain of runs, courtesy of Pradipta Pramanik’s (60 batting, 101b, 3×4, 5×6) blistering rearguard and Anustup Majumdar’s (80, 219b, 7×4) resolute knock, as Bengal prolonged its result in a mammoth 547 on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal on the Holkar Cricket Stadium right here on Saturday.

It was already a case of too little too late for Madhya Pradesh when Saransh Jain (six for 103) dented the lower-order and gave the sprinkling of house followers one thing to cheer about.

But Pramanik, who had trudged to eight off 51, laid into Saransh with two back-to-back sixes earlier than hitting the off-spinner out of the assault and condemning the defending champion to a different day spent fielding.

Crowd-favourite Avesh Khan, geed up by chants of “ Humara neta kaisa ho, Avesh bhaiya jaisa ho (Our leader should be like Avesh bhaiya)” was introduced into the assault in a bid to finish MP’s ordeal.

But Pramanik pulled and lower him for a six and a 4 off successive balls to notch up his 89-ball fifty as Bengal’s 56-run unbeaten Tenth-wicket partnership stretched the entire to 279 for 9 at Stumps.

After conceding a giant first-innings lead on the third day, Madhya Pradesh’s finest shot at forcing a outcome was discovering breakthroughs within the first session. It received just one with Sudip Gharami’s leg-before off a supply from Saransh that saved its line.

Overnight batter Majumdar saved Madhya Pradesh at bay with an innings crafted with persistence and class.

On a day which noticed 71 of the 90 overs being bowled by spinners, Majumdar saved his toes busy on the crease, stepping out to the pitch of the ball and enjoying with the flip. He duly drove with grace when the pacers over-pitched.

Manoj Tiwary struggled to get going towards the spinners, save for an authoritative six down the bottom off Saransh. The off-spinner had the final snigger, nonetheless, when the Bengal skipper tried the same shot however discovered Kumar Kartikeya diving to his proper and latching on to a catch at mid-off.

Bengal misplaced two wickets in fast time to poor shot choice when Abishek Porel received an outdoor edge to the slips making an attempt to heave Saransh over mid-wicket.

Madhya Pradesh’s dilemma was two-fold. It needed to comprise runs but additionally wanted close-in fielders in catching positions. Majumdar and Shahbaz Ahmed capitalised on the host’s quandary, squeezing runs by way of the gaps whereas discovering the odd boundary in a 48-run partnership.

But each fell on both aspect of Tea, leg-before by Kartikeya (three for 63), with Majumdar visibly dissatisfied with the umpire’s determination, which didn’t account for the within edge he claimed he had received.

When Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar turned Saransh’s fifth and sixth victims, respectively, followers have been scrambling to calculate the à la ‘Bazball’ run price at which Madhya Pradesh would want to attain to overtake a goal within the area of 500. Pramanik ensured they left their estimations to him as Madhya Pradesh went on a leather-based hunt.