Unbeaten Ganguly guides Bengal to semis, Baroda pip Jharkhand

Kanpur, Mar 16 (UNI) Embattled Team India former skipper Sourav Ganguly struck form with an unbeaten 89 to guide Bengal into the semi-finals of Inter-State Ranji Trophy One Day Tournament here today.

Chasing a modest target of 229 set by Punjab, Bengal was off to a flying start with openers Ganguly and Subhomoy Das sharing 95 run stand. The cruising Bengal ship was, however, destabilised by the incisive spell of pacer V R V Singh, who claimed four scalps for 53 runs.

The seasoned southpaw, however, kept his composure and alongwith Sanjib Sanyal (11) sealed a four wicket win for Bengal in the 39th over. The former India skipper clouted the Punjab bowlers to every corner of the Green Park stadium in his sterling knock of 89 not out which had 11 boundaries.

Earlier, winning the toss, Bengal decided to field first. Despite a powerful knock of 76 by former India player Dinesh Mongia, the Punjab side, however, failed to withstand the menacing bowling of seamer Ranadeo Bose, who grabbed five crucial wickets for 34 runs. The entire team was bundled out for 229 in the 50th over.

In the other qaurter final played at OEF ground, Baroda pipped Jharkhand by 35 runs. Batting first after losing the toss, Baroda scored 213 for eight in the stipulated 50 overs thanks to knocks of 59 and 29 by Hrishikesh Parabl and Ajit Bhoide respectively. Mihir Diwan and Shahbaz Nadeem claimed three wickets each for Jharkhand, while Sunny Gupta finished with two sclaps.

In reply, Jharkhand were all out for 178 in the 44th over, against the bowling of Yusuf Pathan (four wickets) and Ketan Panchal (three wickets). Manish Kumar with 45 waged the lone battle for Jharkhand willow-wielders.

In the remaining two quarter finals tomorrow, hosts UP take on Karnataka and Tamil Nadu clash with Railways. Tamil Nadu and UP were the joint winners of the last edition of the limited overs tourney.

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