Bengal gift a sensational win to their teammate Mohammad Shami during Vijay Hazare Trophy
Abhimanyu Easwaran’s half-century and bowling brilliance of Akash Deep and Shahbaz Ahmed helped Bengal thrash Madhya Pradesh by a huge margin of 193 runs on Wednesday during their Vijay Hazare Trophy clash.
Winning the toss and electing to bowl, Madhya Pradesh invited Bengal to bat first. Opening batter Easwaran constructed a 95-ball 73 to lay a solid foundation. While Kumar Kartikeya troubled Bengal with his left arm spin, picking 34/4 in 10 overs, he did not receive much support from other bowlers. Bengal posted a challenging score of 254/8 in 50 overs.
Having won their first three matches, Madhya Pradesh were expected to chase the total or atleast put up a strong fight. However, Bengal bowlers proved too hot to handle for them as they went down like nine pins. Akash Deep wreaked havoc with the new ball claiming 8/3 in six overs. Later, Shahbaz Ahmed spun a web around Madhya Pradesh’s batting and snapped 7/4 in 3.4 overs.
Thanevaibhav interacted with Akash Deep, Shahbaz Ahmed, and Bengal’s coach Laxmiratan Shukla after the match.
Reflecting on his performance, Akash Deep said, “My aim was to pick wickets with the new ball. There was some assistance in the wicket for the fast bowlers. I wanted to pitch the ball up and bowl consistently in the same length. The conditions here are quite different from what we have in Kolkata. It is quite hot here so bowling long spells is difficult. But I am enjoying myself.”
He also shared the tip given to him by Mohammad Shami, who had come to meet his Bengal teammates at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium. Akash Deep said, “Shami bhai always tells me to pitch the ball up, whatever be the format.”
Coach Laxmiratan Shukla was all praises for his team. He said, “We played well today. In our last match we got out for 84 runs at CCI but today we came back strong. We batted with discipline and our bowlers were brilliant today. Akash Deep was outstanding. Since last year, he has been doing well.”
Talking about his bowling, Shahbaz Ahmed, who was the most successful bowler for Bengal said, “There was some purchase in the wicket. I used my variations and varied my pace. Also, I feel comfortable playing in these conditions since a couple of years back, I played a lot of cricket in Mumbai during the IPL.”
The next match at Dadoji Konddeo Stadium will be played on December 1 between Goa and Nagaland. Both teams have lost their first three matches in this tournament. Rahul Tripathi, Suyash Prabhudesai, and Arjun Tendulkar are some of the big names that will feature in the match.