Arun Lal: My Bengal pace attack is the best

Bengal players celebrate their win over Karnataka yesterday. Pic/PTI

It was a great day in Bengal cricket on Tuesday as Bengal reached a rare Ranji Trophy final when they beat former champions Karnataka by 174 runs at the Eden Gardens.

Coach J Arun Lal was understandably over the moon and had no qualms in stating that his pace attack comprising Ishan Porel, Mukesh Kumar and Akash Deep was the best in the land on the domestic cricket front. "What stands out is their self belief and the manner in which they compliment each other," said Arun Lal after the trio claimed all 20 Karnataka wickets in the semi-final. Bengal are in a Ranji Trophy final after 13 years. They meet either Saurashtra or Gujarat, who are doing battle in Rajkot.

Arun Lal

According to the former India opener, fitness was the buzzword in the Bengal team and whoever did not match up to those standards didn't make the squad. "We are also a happy dressing room and no one plays for himself," remarked Arun Lal, who featured in Bengal's 1989-90 Ranji win. Sourav Ganguly was also part of that Sambaran Banerjee-led team which beat Kirti Azad's side at Eden Gardens.

Meanwhile, Arun Lal was quoted as saying by PTI that Porel, 21, can send back batsmen of the highest quality: "He's in great form. He's bowling deliveries that can get big batsmen out, like a KL Rahul, or a Virat Kohli."

Porel's 5-39 caused Karnataka's poor show in their first innings when they were bowled out for 122. On Tuesday, Mukesh claimed a career-best 6-61 to send Karnataka packing for 177.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates