Maharashtra defeated Bengal by 10 wickets at Eden Gardens on Thursday to reach the top of Elite Group C. Prithvi Shaw and Sachin Dhas hit unbeaten half-centuries to chase the 112-run target easily. Pradeep Dhade and Hitesh Walunj took four wickets each, helping Maharashtra secure a big bonus point win.
Prithvi Shaw and Sachin Dhas hit unbeaten half-centuries as Maharashtra defeated Bengal by 10 wickets at Eden Gardens to move to the top of Elite Group C.
Maharashtra's collective effort, highlighted by Pradeep Dhade and Hitesh Walunj's four-wicket hauls and unbeaten half-centuries from Sachin Dhas and Prithvi Shaw, earned it a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Bengal in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group-C match at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
Bengal scored 186 in its second innings to set Maharashtra a target of 112, which it chased down quickly to secure a bonus point, despite bad light having curtailed play for three days.
With seven points from its second outright win, second-placed Maharashtra leapfrogged table-topper Bengal to move to 19 points.
Maharashtra's opening pair of Prithvi and Sachin made a mockery of Bengal's bowling attack with breezy knocks. Dhas (61 n.o., 68b, 10x4) displayed his attacking stroke-play, finding the gaps on both sides of the wicket, and reached his half-century in just 43 balls. Shaw (53 n.o., 50b, 3x4, 4x6) played some lovely drives and hammered straight sixes to reach his second half-century in 47 balls.
Maharashtra registered its biggest win of the season, while Bengal suffered its first defeat.
In the morning, Abishek Porel and Sumanta Gupta's half-centuries saved Bengal from a bigger embarrassment.
The host, resuming at 76 for four, lost two more wickets within half an hour. Seamer Dhade trapped Suraj Jaiswal and Shahbaz Ahmed, who failed to make the most of a 'life', lbw.
Porel (65, 84b, 5x4, 1x6), who had resumed on 23, and Sumanta (59, 93b, 5x4), dropped on 31, put together a 64-run partnership. Both played the ball on merit, rotated the strike and found the boundary with well-timed shots on either side of the wicket.
Their partnership ended when left-arm spinner Hitesh Walunj got one to bounce sharply and hit Porel's gloves on its way to the slip fielder.
Maharashtra maintained the pressure in its pursuit of victory. Dhade, who bowled beautifully in the right areas and extracted subtle movement from the pitch, and Walunj, who maintained a tight line, played key roles.
Bengal failed to bat out time and surrendered meekly.
The scores
Bengal -- 1st innings: 143.
Maharashtra -- 1st innings: 218.
Bengal -- 2nd innings: Abhimanyu Easwaran c Nawale b Dadhe 9, Ankur Paul c Patil b Walunj 32, Sudip Gharami c Patil b Sanghavi 12, Sudip Chatterjee lbw b Sanghavi 0, Abishek Porel c Patil b Walunj 65, Suraj Jaiswal lbw b Dadhe 0, Shahbaz Ahmed lbw b Dadhe 0, Sumanta Gupta b Dadhe 59, Pradipta Pramanik c Bawne b Walunj 0, Mohammed Shami c Patil b Walunj 6, Mohammed Kaif (not out) 0; Extras (nb-2, w-1): 3; Total (in 54.4 overs): 186.
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-25, 3-325, 4-74, 5-79, 6-87, 7-151, 8-166, 9-180.
Maharashtra bowling: Dadhe 17.4-3-48-4, Hangargekar 2-1-7-0, Sanghavi 15-1-59-2, Kate 1-0-13-0, Walunj 14-1-53-4, Veer 5-0-6-0.
Maharashtra -- 2nd innings: Prithvi Shaw (not out) 53, Sachin Dhas (not out) 61; Total (for no loss in 19.4 overs): 114.
Bengal bowling: Shami 4-1-25-0, Jaiswal 1-0-12-0, Kaif 3-0-20-0, Shahbaz 6.4-1-40-0, Pramanik 5-0-17-0.