post news network
Cuttack, March 29: In spite of securing a one-run win over Orissa in the last game of the East Zone qualifiers of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament at the Barabati Stadium here Sunday, Bengal failed to reach the Super League. Earlier in the day Jharkhand had defeated Assam to finish second in the group ahead of Bengal.
Opting to bat first, Bengal reached 168 for the loss of six wickets with Wridhhiman Saha (33, 15b, 4×4, 2×6), Manoj Tiwary (21, 14b, 4×4), Sudip Chatterjee (27, 26b, 3×4) and skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla (47 n o, 35b, 3×4, 3×6) contributing. Jayant Behera (2/24) and Orissa captain Biplab Samantray (1/17) bowled well for Orissa.
In reply, Orissa lost their openers early but vice-captain Govind Poddar (38, 26b, 3×4, 1×6) and Biplab (29, 24b, 1×4) wriggled them out of a pressure situation with a 57-run third wicket stand. But after the departure of Biplab, the hosts kept losing wickets regularly. Fast bowlers Deepak Behera (21, 10b, 2×4, 1×6) and Suryakant Pradhan (24, 9b, 1×4, 2×6) used the long handle to bring them closer to the target but two run outs in the last over of the match took the game away from them. Ashok Dinda (2/26) and Aamir Gani(2/30) also struck at crucial junctures to dent the Orissa chase in the game.
Jharkhand win
Jharkhand sealed their place in the Super League stage trouncing Assam by eight wickets in a truncated match of 11 overs due to a wet outfield at the Barabati Stadium earlier in
the day.
After being put into bat, Assam scored 100 runs for the loss of four wickets thanks to a quickfire half century from opener Rishav Das (50, 29b, 8×4, 1×6). In reply, Ishan Kishan (28, 12b, 2×4, 3×6), Ishank Jaggi (43 n o, 32b, 7×4) and Saurabh Tiwary (26 n o, 14b, 3×4, 1×6) anchored the chase to finish off the match in 10.1 overs.