Bengal suffer crushing defeat against Railways

Kolkata: Hosts Bengal on Tuesday suffered a 122-run humiliating defeat against Railways, their fourth in the Ranji season, to usher in the New Year on a depressing note.

Chasing a stiff 372, Bengal folded their innings at 249 as medium pacer Anureet Singh (4/46) and leg-spinner Karan Sharma (3/60) shared seven wickets between them in their concluding group A league. However, the win was not enough for the Railways (21 points) to make to the quarters as Saurashtra (23) made the cut after their 227-run thrashing of Madhya Pradesh. Resuming 13 for one, Bengal never showed any fight even as Sandipan Das (62), Debabrata Das (44) and Arindam Das (40) showed some resistance. Sandipan first tried to forge a partnership with Wriddhiman Saha but the stand-in skipper got out just after lunch becoming Sanjay Bangar`s 300th first-class victim. Bengal were quickly reduced to 148 for five, but Sandipan and Debabrata tried to see through the day putting on a fine partnership. However, Sharma once again marred Bengal`s recovery act dismissing Sandipan at the stroke of tea-break. Das was dismissed by Anureet Singh in the third over after the tea break to reduce Bengal to 215 for seven as Railways completed the formalities with more than an hour to go for the final day. A miffed Bengal coach WV Raman said,"It`s a big wake-up call for Bengal cricket. It`s loud and clear that our batsmen lacked skill to measure up to the challenge. The boys need to be more proactive." "A lot needs to be done. We should look at Mumbai and the way they travel and play on different pitches during off-season. Just hope that it gets better for us," he added. Brief Scores: Railways 214 and 314 decl; Bengal 157 and 249; 78.3 overs (Sandipan Das 62, Debabrata Das 44 not out, Arindam Das 40; Anureet Singh 4/46, Karan Sharma 3/60). Railways won by 122 runs; Railways 6 pts, Bengal 0. PTI