Brilliant performances by Himanshu Mantri and Kumar Karthikeya helped Madhya Pradesh beat Bengal by 174 runs on the fifth and final day of the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy 2021-22 at KSCA. Cricket Ground in Alur on Saturday. Chasing 350, Bengal surrendered to spinner Karthikeya (5/67) as they were bowled out for 175 in 65.2 overs.
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Only captain Abhimanyu Easwaran could post a score of some importance as he led the fight alone with 77 runs from 157 before falling victim to Karthikeya. The next best score came from the bat of all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed, who scored an unbeaten 22 off 82 as he failed to draw in the company of Akash Deep (20).
This is the first time that MP will play in a Ranji Trophy final since the 1998–99 season when they lost to Karnataka. They will now take on 41-time champions Mumbai in the title match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
MP chose to bat first and scored 341 runs thanks to Mantri’s 165 runs. Bengal then recovered from 54/5 thanks to centuries from Shahbaz and Manoj Tiwary, but were still able to score 273 runs.
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MP was then dismissed for 281 and Bengal were set to win 350. Captain Aditya Srivastava (82) and Rajat Patidar (79) were the top scorers in their second innings.
Mumbai entered the summit clash on the basis of their first innings lead over Uttar Pradesh when their semi-final match ended in a draw on Saturday. Mumbai has achieved this position for the first time after the 2016-17 season.
Coming to bat first, Mumbai’s team was bundled out for 393 runs with the help of century innings from Hardik Tamor and Yashasvi Jaiswal. In reply, UP were bundled out for 180 runs.
Mumbai declared their second innings at a mammoth score of 533/4, with Jaiswal scoring a century again, while Armaan Jaffer also scored his century. With their overall lead of 746 runs, both the teams agreed to a draw with Mumbai going ahead.
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