Bengal meet Karnataka in semis

Even as the stocky middle-order batsman Nikhil Doru stood tall for the visitors among the ruins — he scored a defiant 103, hanging on for 401 minutes — the result soon became evident when Rajasthan skipper and key man Jadeja ambled out to bat at No 9. He remained unbeaten on 25 as Rajasthan folded up in less than an hour after lunch.

With the win, Paras Mhambrey’s boys logged 5 points, topping Group B with 17 points and finishing two points ahead of a resurgent Mumbai. Last year’s runners-up will now face Karnataka in their semi-final at Eden Gardens, while Mumbai will be tested by Group A leaders Baroda at Vadodara.

Earlier even as the Bengal bowling attack chugged along, the buzz that was present on the first day went missing at the ground — obvious reason being, the local hero Ganguly was a spectator for the larger part of the day, fielding at the ropes and then speeding off before the last wicket fell.

For Rajasthan — with four points from six matches — there wasn’t much to lose from this miserable outing though, since they escaped relegation this season.

Bengal coach Mhambrey sounded upbeat about the looming semi-final clash: “Hats off to our bowlers for doing such a great job. We played the final last time and I see no reason why we can’t repeat the feat.”

Brief scores: Bengal 583/6 decl bt Rajasthan 193 & 328 (Nikhil Doru 103, Rohit Jhalani 62; Sourav Sarkar 3/52, Sourasish Lahiri 2/100, LR Shukla 2/9).