Ranji Trophy semifinal: Pramanik takes fifer as Bengal thrashes Madhya Pradesh by 306 runs

Bengal settled scores with Madhya Pradesh because it thrashed the defending champion by 306 runs within the Ranji Trophy semifinal on the Holkar Cricket Stadium right here on Sunday and booked a date with Saurashtra within the last for the second time within the final three seasons.

Pradipta Pramanik (5 for 51) set the seal on Madhya Pradesh’s flailing hopes and fittingly claimed the final wicket of Gaurav Yadav as celebrations broke out amid chants of ‘ Joy Bangla (Victory to Bengal)’ with the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) flag, carried onto the sphere for the post-match formalities, fluttered with pleasure.

Bengal, enjoying in opposition to the opponent that had crushed it in final yr’s semifinal on the similar venue, ensured the end result wasn’t the identical this time round by dominating Madhya Pradesh over the course of 5 days.

The hosts, pursuing a goal that exceeded the highest-ever profitable run-chase within the Ranji Trophy by 172 runs, began with the fitting intent. But that was nearly how effectively issues went for them.

Openers Himanshu Mantri and Yash Dubey set the ball rolling with a brisk 33-run stand that had the tenor of urgency however lacked substance.

When Manoj Tiwary held on to a pointy low catch within the slips off Shahbaz Ahmed to ship Mantri again, Shubham Sharma’s entry at one-drop raised eyebrows, particularly with Rajat Patidar (52, 58b, 2×4, 4×6) warming the bench. Shubham impressed, however, by clearing Shahbaz’s left-arm spin for a six – the primary of the innings.

With Dubey and Shubham perishing making an attempt to maintain at par with the hovering required price, the presence of Indian Premier League (IPL) stars Patidar and Venkatesh Iyer on the crease captured the creativeness of a sizeable crowd.

Both batters obliged, using the sweep to good impact in a 43-run partnership off 40 balls, which prompted captain Tiwary to briefly flaunt his sling-arm off-spin bowling.

When Patidar duly deposited his broad outdoors off-stump deliveries for a six and 4, the Bengal skipper put paid to the experiment. But, by then, Venkatesh had been dismissed, bowled via his legs by a supply from Pramanik that spun sharply in.

If Madhya Pradesh’s hopes have been using on Patidar, pacer Mukesh Kumar (two for 35) ensured a 548-run goal remained a pipe dream for the hosts. After erring too full within the morning session, Mukesh dragged his size again after Lunch and had Patidar, who struck a run-a-ball fifty, caught at deep square-leg. An identical size knocked over Saransh Jain’s stumps and it wasn’t lengthy earlier than Aditya Shrivastava was run out by a direct hit.

With Avesh Khan and Kumar Kartikeya dismissed in fast succession and Bengal one step away from victory, Anubhav Agarwal (30 n.o., 12b, 1×4, 4×6) determined to elicit some cheer from the MP followers earlier than they have been silenced by the inevitable defeat.

He set his sights on Karan Lal, bowling solely his second over within the match, and clubbed the off-spinner for 4 sixes in a single over – all clear swings straight down the bottom.

Taking a cue, Gaurav swung his bat throughout the road to clear deep square-leg however obtained an inside edge to the wicketkeeper as Bengal confirmed its fifteenth look in a Ranji Trophy last and took another step in direction of ending its 33-year-long title drought.