Chirag Gupta
Patna: Bengal defeated Bihar by nine wickets in a Group A match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Ground C in Rajkot. Bengal’s Karan Lal, who played a stellar knock, was named Player of the Match. Bihar is set to play its final group match against Madhya Pradesh on December 5.
After losing the toss, Bihar batted first and scored 147 for 6 in 20 overs. Sakibul Gani was the standout performer with a brilliant 79 off 56 balls, including 12 fours and a six. Contributions came from Kumar Rajneesh (22 off 17 balls) and Bipin Saurabh (13 off 11 balls). Bengal’s bowlers were effective, with Sayan Ghosh taking 2 wickets for 32 runs and Prayas Rai Barman, Mohammed Shami, and Shahbaz picking up one wicket each.
In response, Bengal chased the target comfortably, scoring 150 for 1 in just 14 overs. Karan Lal anchored the innings with an unbeaten 94 off 47 balls, hitting 9 fours and 6 sixes. Sudip Kumar Gharami supported with 32 not out off 27 balls, while Abhishek Parol chipped in with 19 off 10 balls. Prashant Kumar Singh was the sole wicket-taker for Bihar, conceding 29 runs in 3 overs.
Bihar’s bowling struggled against Bengal’s aggressive batting. Amod Yadav, Gajendra Singh, Himanshu Singh, and Sachin Kumar Singh went wicketless, conceding runs at over eight per over. This defeat continues Bihar’s challenging run in the tournament.
