Shami fires with bat and ball to help Bengal into quarters

December 9, 2024
11:23 pm

Bengal 159 for 9 (Karan 33, Shami 32*, Pramanik 30, Jagjit 4-21, Bawa 2-27) beat Chandigarh 156 for 6 (Bawa 32, Yadav 27, Ghosh 4-30, Seth 2-35) by 3 runs

Bengal are through to the quarter-finals of the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) after prevailing by three runs in a thriller against Chandigarh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday afternoon.

The hero was seamer Sayan Ghosh, who picked up 4 for 30 to remove the cream of Chandigarh’s batting in their pursuit of 157. The target was set up largely by Karan Lal, who top scored with 33, and Writtick Chatterjee, who made a 12-ball 28.

The unlikely batting hero, though, was Mohammed Shami, who walloped an unbeaten 17-ball 32 from No. 10, his highest score in T20s, to give them momentum going into the break.

Chandigarh’s hot-and-cold chase was fuelled by Raj Bawa‘s 32. It came down to them needing 20 off the last two overs with three wickets in hand.

Shami, who had picked up a wicket with his second delivery in his first spell that finished with figures of 3-0-13-1, conceded 12 in his final over upon his return at the death and the equation was brought down to eight off the last six.

Ghosh then bowled two dots and picked up a wicket in the first five deliveries of the over to all but seal the game. With seven needed of one ball, Nishunk Birla hit a boundary and Bengal won by three runs.

Shami has now featured in each of Bengal’s eight matches, and has bowled his full quota of overs in every game, while picking up nine wickets at an economy of 7.49. As of Monday, it’s understood Shami will remain with the Bengal squad for the remainder of their campaign.

While in Bengaluru, Shami has been working with the National Cricket Academy staff as he continues on his road back to top-flight cricket. He’s yet to get the all-clear, however.

On Sunday in Adelaide, India captain Rohit Sharma reiterated the need for caution over not rushing Shami back for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, though “the door remains open”. His comments stem from Shami having developed some swelling in his knees while bowling during SMAT.

The Bengal team management has expressed satisfaction at the way Shami has responded to his bowling workload and his intensity all tournament. Shami has opted to rest instead of train on match-eve, a decision which is believed to have been his own with a view to keep him going for the duration of the competition.

Bengal next play Baroda in the round of eight on Wednesday.

Rinku, Bhuvneshwar and Nigam star as UP beat Andhra

Uttar Pradesh 157 for 6 (Karan 48, Rinku 27*, Nigam 27*, Sudharsan 3-22, Vijay 2-21) beat Andhra 156 for 6 (Prasad 34*, Sasikanth 23*, Nigam 2-20, Bhuvneshwar 2-30)

Andhra were stuck at 89 for 5 after 15 overs, and 113 for 6 after 16.2 but KV Sasikanth and SDNV Prasad breathed life into the innings with an unbeaten 43-run stand for the seventh wicket off 16 balls to take them to 156 for 6.

In reply, UP were cruising with Karan Sharma and Aryan Juyal adding 70 runs in 49 balls. Then they lost four wickets in 24 balls for 18 runs. Two more fell in the 16th over with Rinku stranded at one end. But he found excellent support from Nigam, the duo adding 48 runs off 18 balls to take UP to a win with an over to spare.