Shami stars in Bengal`s hard-earned win over Jharkhand

Kolkata: Riding on an all-round show from Shami Ahmed, defending champions Bengal kept themselves in the hunt for a knock-out berth with a narrow three-wicket win over Jharkhand in their East Zone leg of the Vijay Hazare Trophy match at Eden Gardens today.

Chasing 162 from 38 overs in a rain-curtailed match, Bengal were in trouble with 136 for seven in the 32nd over but Shami blasted 23 off only eight balls with three huge sixes and a boundary after having taken three wickets while bowling. Shami spanked Rohit Shukla for consecutive sixes before hitting the winning runs with another big hit in the 34th over. Bengal now have eight points from two matches, behind leaders Assam (10) while Jharkhand (four) are placed third in the East Zone table. Put into bat after the match was delayed for two hours due to damp condition in the wicket, Jharkhand were bundled out for 161 in 37.2 overs. Subroto Ghosh (40) gave Jharkhand a good start but the middle-order could not capitalise on the start with a tidy bowling from the trio of Shami, Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Iresh Saxena who claimed three apiece. No 7 Kumar Deobrat repaired the damage with a 68-ball 45 (3x4, 1x6) as they recovered from 102 for seven before being bundled out in the 37.2 overs. In reply, Bengal once again had a jittery start as their experiment of opening with Saurashish Lahiri (5) failing yet again while the top-order also could not contribute to be reduced to 29 for three. Wriddhiman Saha (37) put on a bravefront taking the team closer to target but left-arm medium pacer Jaskaran Singh (3/38) kept Jharkhand in the target reducing them to 136 for seven in the 32nd over. With 37 required from 26 balls, Shami shattered Jharkhand`s hopes as he charged on Rahul Shukla in the 32nd over that yielded 16 runs. Shami finished it in style with a winning six of Jharkhand skipper Shahbaz Nadeem in the next over. "The India stint has boosted my confidence and I was happy to contribute to with the bat today," Shami said. BRIEF SCORES Jharkhand 161; 37.2 overs (Kumar Deobrat 45, Subroto Ghosh 40; Iresh Saxena 3/19, Laxmi Ratan Shukla 3/35, Shami Ahmed 3/54). Bengal 162/7; 33.3 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 37, Subhomoy Das 36; Jaskaran Singh 3/38). Bengal won by three wickets. Bengal 4 points, Jharkhand 0. PTI