Bengal Cruise to Vijay Hazare Pre-Quarterfinals with Anustup's Century and Disciplined Bowling
Anustup's unbeaten 111 and three-wicket hauls from Maity and Ahmed propel Bengal to victory over Punjab.
Bengal, propelled by an impressive century from Anustup Majumdar and a disciplined effort from their bowlers, qualified for the Vijay Hazare Trophy pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Bengal will take on Gujarat in Rajkot on Saturday in an attempt to advance to the final eight of the domestic 50-over competition, following their 52-run victory over Punjab in Thane, Maharashtra. Bengal had five victories in six games to finish second in Group E with 20 points.
Bengal's lone loss came against Tamil Nadu, who led the group. However, they did well to keep their spirits up despite that. "There was no blame game in our camp following the 84 all out against Tamil Nadu. We were all concentrating on the turnaround. As a former Bengal player and current member of the coaching staff, Sourasish Lahiri stated, "That game actually made the unit more determined."
Following Anustup's innings of 111 without losing to help Bengal reach 242/9, the spinners fielded a brilliantly modest total, with both the ambidextrous Kaushik Maity and Shahbaz Ahmed taking three wickets apiece. Mohammad Kaif and Pradipta Pramanik each claimed two wickets.
During his 116-ball over, Anustup hit two sixes and ten fours. Karan Lal (66) gave him a lot of support.
Brief scores: Anustup Majumdar 111 n.o., Karan Lal 66, Baltej Singh 5/35; Bengal 242/9 in 50 ovs. Shahbaz Ahmed 3/53, Kaushik Maity 3/36): Punjab 190 in 24.1 ovs. Bengals prevailed by a margin of 52 runs.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Press Time staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
