KOLKATA: Karan Lal joined an elite club of debutant players to claim five wickets in an innings and help Bengal beat Nagaland by an innings and 161 runs in their Elite Group 'A' Ranji Trophy match at Sovima, on the outskirts of Dimapur, on Thursday. The big win ensured the maximum points (7) for Bengal as they consolidated their position in the group with 16 points from three games.
A member of the India U-19 2019 Asia Cup-winning team, Lal, along with his spinning partners Shahbaz Ahmed and Pradipta Pramanik, ran through the Nagaland second innings in the second session of play as the hosts folded up for 123 runs just after the tea interval on Day III.
Shahbaz came good with the ball claiming three for 38 after a quickfire unbeaten 75 off just 55 balls earlier in the day. Pramanik returned with two for 24. The Bengal spinners dominated throughout the match, ending up with 17 of the 20 Nagaland wickets in the match.
Both the overnight unbeaten batters, skipper Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz went into the act according to a plan, collecting quick runs after a delayed start to the day's play. The duo put on an unbroken 121-run fifth-wicket stand off 101 balls. Bengal declared at 450 for four with a lead of 284 runs, just after the lunch break with Tiwary unbeaten on 51.
Nagaland did make a good start with the opening pair of Yugandhar Singh and Joshua Ozukum notching up 46 runs in 14 overs. But once 22-year-old Lal got the breakthrough trapping Yugandhar in front for 19, Nagaland started losing wickets at regular intervals. After Pramanik got Joshua in the next over, Lal ran through the Nagaland middle-order picking up Rongsen Jonathan, first-innings hero Chetan Bist and skipper Hokaito Zhimomi to reduce them to 74 for five. Pramanik and Shahbaz did the rest to fetch a comfortable win inside three days.
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