Bengal Hammer Tripura to Enter Vijay Hazare Quarter-Finals

File photo of Laxmi Ratan Shukla.

Hosts Bengal on Thursday pulverised Tripura by nine wickets in an east zone leg match to enter the quarter-finals of the national One Day Championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

After Tripura were shot out for 121 in 38.3 overs, Bengal sleepwalked to the target in 26 overs, courtesy a 104-run opening wicket stand between Arindam Das (51) and Shreevats Goswami (51).

Bengal with 12 points are through to the knock-outs and have already qualified for the quarter-finals. The four teams that had atleast reached the semi-finals during last edition automatically qualify for the last eight phase and Bengal being virtue of one amongst the four, made the cut.

Opting to bowl at the JU (Salt Lake) ground, skipper Laxmi Ratan Shukla (3/19 in 6 overs) and off-spinner Saurashish Lahiri (3/18 in 5 overs) shared the bulk of the spoils.

Veteran pacer Ashoke Dinda (2/9 in 5.3 overs) was also unplayable during his first spell with only Manishankar Murasingh (45) providing some resistance.

The last five wickets fell for 22 runs in 7.5 overs.

A paltry target to chase, left-right combination of Goswami and Das hit seven and six boundaries, respectively to seal the issue with minimum fuss. Bengal still have a match left against Assam.

Brief Scores: Tripura 121 in 38.3 overs (Manishankar Mura Singh 45, LR Shukla 3/19, S Lahiri 3/18)

Bengal 125/1 in 26 overs (Shreevats Goswami 51 no, Arindam Das 51). Bengal won by 9 wickets. Points: Bengal 4; Tripura 0.