Porel’s fifer puts Bengal in command
Kolkata, March 1: Ishan Porel complemented Anustup Majumdar’s unbeaten century with a five-wicket haul to put Bengal in command against a star-studded Karnataka in their Ranji Trophy semifinal here on Sunday.
After Majumdar’s 149 not out propelled Bengal to 312 after being down at 67 for 6 at one stage, the 21-yearold Porel snared 5 for 39 as the three-pronged Bengal pace attack dismissed the batting-heavy Karnataka for a paltry 122 in 36.2 overs, their lowest total this season.
India opener Rahul, who was adjudged man-of-theseries in their 5-0 T20I whitewash of New Zealand recently, looked out of sorts and scored a forgettable 67-ball 26
(2x4s). Spinner Krishnappa Gowtham (31) top-scored for Karnataka in a quick 56-run (46 balls) eighth-wicket stand with Abhimanyu Mithun (24) to help Karnataka avoid the follow-on but only to concede a massive 190-run first innings lead.
A total of 15 wickets tumbled on day two as Bengal were 72 for 4 at stumps with Sudip Chatterjee giving Majumdar company, extending the hosts’ overall lead to a sizeable 262run. In the fag end, Majumdar survived after getting out off a no-ball off
Ronit More, as Bengal brightened their prospects to make their first final in Ranji Trophy after 13 years. Having already conceded the first-innings lead, Karnataka will now have to pull off something special in their second essay to avoid their third semifinal defeat in a row.
Earlier, Majumdar played the innings of his life in a 207-ball knock spanning five hours as Bengal pulled off a heist with their last four batsmen adding 245 runs in a spectacular rescue-act.
Jackson, bowlers give Saurashtra upper hand
Sheldon Jackson struck a gritty hundred before the bowlers shone as Saurashtra gained the upper hand on the second day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal against Gujarat at Rajkot on Sunday.
Jackson’s knock of 103 helped Saurashtra post 304 and then the home team bowlers wreaked havoc on Gujarat’s batting line-up to reduce them to 119 for six. Resuming on overnight 217 for five, through Sheldon Jackson and Chirag Jani (29), Saurashtra negated the early challenge posed by the opposition bowlers.
Jackson got a reprieve on 82 when skipper Parthiv Patel dropped a catch off pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla. He made the most of this by notching up his 19th first-class hundred and third this season.
Jackson and Jani were looking good before Gujarat bounced back with medium-pacer Roosh Kalaria sending both the batsmen back to the pavilion. He first trapped Jani in front of the wicket and then got Jackson to edge to Parthiv as Saurashtra slipped to 266 for seven. Jackson and Jani added 103 run wicket for the sixth wicket.