Bengal’s magnificent comeback at Nagpur against reigning champions Mumbai was undone by a rearguard batting display by Abhishek Nayar (51) and Shubham Ranjane (76 not out), who managed to steal a draw and get three points on the board.
Mumbai, who were set a target of 338 in their second innings were reeling at 67/5 after Ashok Dinda landed early blows, but Nayar and Ranjane battled it out and brought up a 112-run stand for the sixth wicket, thereby ending Bengal’s chances of a win.
It looked like Manoj Tiwary’s men were going to pull something out of the ordinary after getting shot out for just 99 on day one. It was Dinda’s five-for in the first innings that gave Bengal a sniff as they bowled Mumbai out for 229 and their batting linchpins, Sudip Chatterjee and Tiwary scored hundreds to set Mumbai a 338-run target on day four.
Extacy soon turned into despair for Bengal, who were unable to polish off the Mumbai lower order. The 41-time champions took three points from the game and topped Group A while Bengal lie fifth in the table.
Brief Scores:
Bengal 99 (Sudip Chatterjee 35, Abhishek Raman 21; Shardul Thakur 6/31, Dhawal Kulkarni 3/22) & 437 (Manoj Tiwary 169, Sudip Chatterjee 130; Dhawal Kulkarni 5/110, Abhishek Nayar 2/70) drew with Mumbai 229 (Kaustubh Pawar 78, Shreyas Iyer 28; Ashok Dinda 5/88, Mukesh Kumar 3/56) & 203/6 (Shubham Ranjane 76 not out, Abhishek Nayar 51; Ashok Dinda 4/74)
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