Ranji Trophy: Ahmed spins Bengal to 48-run win, ensures spot in quarterfinals

PATIALA: Shahbaz Ahmed's 11 for 101 helped Bengal beat Punjab by 48 runs in a low-scoring thriller at the Dhruv Pandove Stadium on Friday, ensuring his team's place in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy. Bengal is likely to face Odisha next.
It was the second match in a row where Bengal rode on Shahbaz's heroics - his unbeaten 61 had helped his team chase down 320 against Jaipur.The left-arm spinner has 29 wickets in eight matches and is the leading wicket taker for Bengal in this season.
Shahbaz, who does not have any roots in Bengal, just like his predecessors Rohan Gavaskar, Saba Karim, Mohammad Shami and Bengal coach Arun Lal, is making waves in the domestic cricket.
Shahbaz, who hails from Nuh district of Haryana, entered the Bengal team on the back of consistent all-round performance in Kolkata's club cricket.
For over five years, Shahbaz amassed runs and took wickets in Haryana's domestic competition, only to be overlooked by the selectors, when time came to pick the state's u-19 squad. Five years ago, he got a call from his friend, who asked him to move to Kolkata. In search of better opportunities, he started playing club cricket there.
"Haryana ke liye toh kabhi nahi khel pata, wahaan politics bahut hai (I would have never played for Haryana because of the amount of politics). I am blessed to represent Bengal. Our coach (Arun Lal) and Manni bhaiya (Manoj Tiwari) has helped me a lot. As a team we want to win the Ranji Trophy and inshallah (by the grace of god) we will," Shahbaz told TOI after the match.
It looked like the investment of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) in Shahbaz is finally paying off. The youngster has played a pivotal role for Bengal both with the bat and ball in this season.
Arun Lal, who was furious with Shahbaz because the way he got out in the second innings, heaped praise on the youngster. "The problem with him is that he himself does not know his potential. He can become India's spin bowling all-rounder in a couple of years. He just needs a bit of consistency and has to put a prize on his wicket. I hope Royal Challengers Bengal (RCB) will give him a chance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to show his worth," said Arun Lal.
Earlier, the visiting side could add only three more to its overnight score of 199 as Krishan Alang removed Writtick Chatterjee to end with figures of 6 for 53. Bengal was bowled out for 202, setting Punjab a target of 190.
Bengal's new-ball bowler Akash Deep generated good pace on a docile pitch. He struck in his first over, when opener Abhijeet Garg poked a ball outside off and edged it to the keeper. He then cleaned up Sharad Lumba, before the spinners took control.
Rohan Marwaha was bowled by Arnab Nandi and Shahbaz again got the prized wicket of Punjab skipper Mandeep Singh, who scored 17. Punjab's experiment of sending Krishan Alang ahead also did not work out, as he became the first victim of debutant Ramesh Prasad.
Wicket-keeper Anmol Malhotra and debutant Ramandeep Singh revived Punjab's chase. The duo added 63-runs for the sixth wicket and it looked like Punjab are back in the game. But Shahbaz has other ideas as he trapped Malohtra on 17 and sent back Abhishek Gupta with a sharp return catch to complete his maiden 10-wicket haul.
Ramandeep (69 not out) remained stranded on one hand as wickets kept tumbling around him. The last thing Punjab needed was a run out. The match ended in a comical fashion with tail-enders Siddharth Kaul and Baltej Singh throwing away their wickets by running themselves out.
"We failed to win the crunch moments. Yesterday, we were 93 for 3 and got bowled out for 151. If we could have batted better, we could have easily won the match. But at the same time, you have to see it is a very young team and most of the boys are playing either their first season or second," said Punjab's head coach Bali.
"Credit to Manoj (Tiwary), the way he batted. We have witnessed a sheer master class from one of the very best," added Bali.
Manoj was awarded the man of the match for his 73 not out and 65 on a bowlers' pitch.
For Bengal, Ishan Porel will join the squad ahead of their quarterfinal match. But there is a concern for the Bengal camp as their pacer Akash Deep limped off the field in the first session and did not return after lunch. He picked up an injury while fielding.
"It is a bit of concern, we have to wait for couple of days to know the damage. Let's hope he will be available for selection in the quarterfinals," said Lal.
Scoreboard
Bengal 1st innings: 138 all out
Punjab 1st innings: 151 all out
Bengal 2nd innings: 199 for 9 overnight: Writtick Bijoy Chatterjee c Abhishek Gupta b Krishan Alang 6, Ramesh Prasad not out 6
Extras: 2 (lb 2)
Total: 202 all out in 69.3 overs
FOW: 1-5 (AR Easwaran, 0.3 ov) ,2-18 (Koushik Ghosh, 8.6 ov) ,3-21 (Abhishek Kumar Raman, 10.2 ov) ,4-128 (Arnab Nandi, 42.1 ov) ,5-146 (Manoj Tiwary, 50.1 ov) ,6-183 (Anustup Majumdar, 57.3 ov) ,7-190 (Shreevats Goswami, 61.4 ov) ,8-190 (Shahbaz, 62.1 ov) ,9-190 (Akash Deep , 62.5 ov) ,10-202 (Writtick Bijoy Chatterjee, 69.3 ov)
Bowling: Siddharth Kaul 11-1-37-2, Krishan Alang 23.3-7-53-6, Baltej Singh 5-1-8-0, Vinay Choudhary 26-3-92-2, Mandeep Singh 4-0-10-0
Punjab 2nd Inning: Rohan Marwaha b Arnab Nandi 2, Abhijeet Garg c Shreevats Goswami b Akash Deep 0, Sharad Lumba b Akash Deep 3, Mandeep Singh lbw Shahbaz 17, Krishan Alang lbw Ramesh Prasad 11, Ramandeep Singh not out 69, Anmol Malhotra lbw Shahbaz 17, Abhishek Gupta c&b Shahbaz 6, Vinay Choudhary lbw Shahbaz 4, Siddharth Kaul run out Shreevats Goswami 1, Baltej Singh run out Shreevats Goswami 0
Extras: 11 (nb 2, b 4, lb 5)
Total: 141 all out in 47.3 overs
FOW: 1-1 (Abhijeet Garg, 0.6 ov) ,2-5 (Sharad Lumba, 4.5 ov) ,3-5 (Rohan Marwaha, 5.1 ov) ,4-31 (Mandeep Singh, 13.5 ov) ,5-37 (Krishan Alang, 16.2 ov) ,6-100 (Anmol Malhotra, 36.1 ov) ,7-121 (Abhishek Gupta, 41.3 ov) ,8-127 (Vinay Choudhary, 43.2 ov) ,9-141 (Siddharth Kaul, 47.2 ov) ,10-141 (Baltej Singh, 47.3 ov)
Bowling: Akash Deep 6-2-17-2, Arnab Nandi 7-2-22-1, Shahbaz 18.3-3-44-4, Ramesh Prasad 14-0-46-1, Writtick Bijoy Chatterjee 2-0-3-0