Rajkot, October 1: Cheteshwar Pujara’s second century in two days and an elegantly compiled 93 by opener Murali Vijay won the day for India B as they piled on 328 for eight. They then bowled out their opponents, Bengal, for 307 to register a 21-run win in the final league match of the Airtel Challenger Series for the NKP Salve Trophy. The win came despite Bengal skipper Wriddhiman Saha scoring an impressive century under pressure in the run-chase and Sandipan Das’ all-round performance. With that victory, India B qualified for Tuesday’s title clash against India A.
After opting to bat first, India B lost the wicket of opener S Anirudha very early in the innings. But they recovered quickly from that blow through a 140-run partnership between Vijay and Pujara. Both batsmen looked to be on top of their game from the outset. While Vijay played some handsome shots, his skipper was solid as ever at the other end. One got to see fluent drives through cover and straight down the ground, whips off the pads and pulls through midwicket during Vijay’s 93 (off 79 balls). Pujara’s unbeaten 125 (off 130 balls), on the other hand, was more like a workman innings. Though he constructed his innings run by run – reaching his half-century off 73 deliveries – he made up for his poor strike-rate early on by scoring runs in a flurry towards the end of the innings.
In the middle overs, India B lost their way a bit after Kedar Jadhav was dismissed in the 35th over; they lost four wickets for 51 runs in the space of ten overs to slip to 251 for seven. However, they finished their innings with a flourish thanks to a blitzkrieg from Praveen Kumar (who scored 53 off 26 balls, and hit seven boundaries and three sixes). His 30-ball partnership with Pujara was worth 68 runs. This helped India B reach 328 for eight in their 50 overs.
For Bengal, medium pacer Sandipan Das (who was brought on as the sixth bowler) was most successful as he clocked figures of five for 51. Iresh Saxena, Veer Pratap Singh and Ravikant Singh all chipped in with a wicket each.
When it was their turn to bat, Bengal started off on the wrong note, losing both their openers by the seventh over. But skipper Saha and Das resurrected the innings with a 140-run partnership, and ensured their team remained in the hunt. While Das kept the scoreboard ticking, Saha played a beautiful innings and reached the three-figure mark. The Bengal captain started off with a flurry – scoring four boundaries in the first eleven deliveries he faced – but thereafter settled down for the long haul. Apart from working the ball and picking up ones and twos, he used the sweep shot to good effect and even charged down the ground and drove the ball through extra cover often.
Once the pair was separated – when Munaf Patel dismissed Das for 57 – India B tightened the noose around Bengal and strangled them. Saha was dismissed soon after too – leg before wicket to Stuart Binny – for an impressive 116 (93 balls; 11 fours, 4 sixes). That dismissal knocked the wind out of Bengal’s sails as they were bundled out for 307 in 49.4 overs.
For India B, Munaf Patel was the most successful bowler with figures of four for 39 from his 11 overs. Praveen Kumar, Ravindra Jadeja and Binny also chipped in with wickets.
Brief Scores
India B: 328-8 in 50 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 124*, Murali Vijay 93, Praveen Kumar 53, Sandipan Das 5-51)
Bengal: 307 in 49.4 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 116, Sandipan Das 57, Debabrata Das 49*, Munaf Patel 4-39, Ravindra Jadeja 2-52, Praveen Kumar 2-60)
