Bengal cruise past Jharkhand, join Karnataka in Ranji Trophy 2022-23 semifinals

Packed with impact bowlers a formidable Bengal demolished Jharkhand by nine wickets inside four days to progress to the Ranji Trophy semifinals for the third time in a row here FridayBengal had played the final in the 201920 season and after a COVID induced break the team qualified for the semifinals last year when it lost to eventual champions Madhya PradeshIn fact defending champions Madhya Pradesh which has been is Bengals bogey team for quite a few years is again pitted against Manoj Tiwarys menStarting the day at 162 for 7 Jharkhands lowerorder led by Supriyo Chakraborty 41 did delay the inevitable for just about 15 plus overs in the morning before being shot out for 221The target of 67 was more of a romp for India A skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran 28 not out and inform Sudip Gharami 26 not out as the umpires extended the first session to allow Bengal complete formalities in 124 overs after they lost opener Kazi Junaid SaifiAlso Read Ranji Trophy Eighttime champions Karnataka outclass Uttarakhand to enter semifinalsUnder new head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla Bengals pacers Akash Deep match figures 6108 Mukesh Kumar match figures 494 Ishan Porel match figures 290 shared 12 wickets amongst themselvesRookie Akash Ghatak match figures 436 and seasoned leftarm spin bowling allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed 245 and 81 runs also played the supporting role to perfectionMatch referee Daniel Manohars decision to award the Player of the Match award to Akash Deep was fully justified as he set up the match for Bengal on the first day itself when Jharkhand were bowled out for 173 in just 662 overs Akash was the wreckerinchief with 462 and Bengal never looked back after thatThis years Ranji Trophy could be a special one for Bengal as skipper Tiwary also a junior Sports Minister in the Trinamool Congressrun state government is likely to call it quits if they lift the elusive trophy after 33 yearsAlso Read An infamous season alrightFor that Bengals pace unit needs to continue firing and produce the goods like it has been doing for the past three seasonsA unit that has more often than not kept rival teams in the 300run first innings range for the majority of the last three seasons current one included will always be respected by the oppositionIn Mukesh Akash and Ishan Bengal have found another potent seam and swing bowling unit after Ranadeb Bose Shib Shankar Paul and the tireless Ashoke Dinda tormented the opposition between 20052008Bengal played backto back Ranji Trophy finals without winning oneThe current troika has already played one final and one semifinal but the players would like to finish one better this timeBrief ScoresJharkhand 173 and 221 in 635 overs Aryaman Sen 64 Akash Deep 246 Akash Ghatak 321 Shahbaz Ahmed 245Bengal 328 and target 67 691 in 124 overs Abhimanyu Easwaran 28 not out S Gharami 26 not out Bengal won by 9 wickets Qualify for SemifinalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever