Kolkata: Boosted by superlative batting displays by Abhimanyu Easwaran and Writtick Chatterjee, veteran Bengal batsman Anustup Majumdar continued his good form as he struck a majestic 132 n.o as their quarter-final clash against defending champions Gujarat ended in a draw.
Thus, the Manoj Tiwary led side, who had taken a first innings lead progressed into the semi-finals.
After Chatterjee’s scintillating double hundred on the fourth day, it was Anustup’s turn to produce some magic with the willow. Having missed on the three-figure mark by just six runs in the first innings, the right-hander made full use of the opportunity and played a brilliant hand of 132. He was also assisted by Aamir Gani, who scored 53 runs as Bengal went to amass a massive a 825-run lead.
Skipper Tiwary was undoubtedly a happy man at the post-match said, “The win against Gujrat is very impressive. They are the defending champions.Boys are always ready to take up the responsibility whenever they are given opportunity and the way they responded to the situation made the entire team management ecstatic.
“We executed the plans properly on the field and that gave us a preferable result for us.We have a bunches youngsters and they soaked the pressure well and took their to another level. Youngsters are always ready to face the challenges and grab the opportunity with both the hands. I’m very happy with the team,” he also said.
He further added that he was very happy with his batsmen.
“I’m very happy with the way all the batsmen contributed when it mattered. Easwaran, Writtick, Anustup all are very good players and performed really well under pressure.”
“‘I believe in my team and I believe that if we continue to replicate this performance in emi-final,” Manoj also stressed.
The other teams to have made it to the semi-finals are Delhi, Karnataka and Vidarbha.
Summarised scores-
Jaipur: Bengal 354 all out and 695/6 (Writtick Chatterjee 216, Anustup Majumdar 132 n.o; Ishwar Chaudhary 95/2) drew against Gujarat 224 all out
Vijayawada: Delhi 405 all out and 217/3 (Gautam Gambhir 95, Kunal Chandela 57; Ishwar Pandey 1/18) beat Madhya Pradesh 338 all out and 283 all out by 7 wickets
Surat: Kerala 176 all out and 165 all out (Salman Nizar 64, Mohammed Azharuddeen 28; Aditya Sarwate 6/41) lost to 246 all out and 507/9 decl. by 412 runs
Nagpur: Mumbai 173 all out and 377 all out (Suryakumar Yadav 108, Shivam Dubey 71; Krishnappa Gowtham 6/104) by an innings and 20 runs.