Vijay Hazare Trophy: Batters falter as Bengal go down to Tamil Nadu

KOLKATA: Tamil Nadu pacers took full advantage of helpful conditions to script a five-wicket win against Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy Group E match at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. This was Bengal’s first defeat after two back-to-back victories in the tournament.
Pacers Sandeep Warrier (4/23) and T Natarajan (2/20) shared six wickets among themselves to bowl out Bengal for 84 only in 24.3 overs after TN skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and had little hesitation in putting the rivals into bat first.
The Bengal pacers too did put up a challenge, but the total proved too little for them to defend as TN romped home getting 85 for five in 19.1 overs.
In the morning, the bowlers had their say under overcast conditions after a delayed start due to wet outfield that saw the match being reduced to 38 overs per team. And in no time Bengal found themselves reeling at 42 for five within the first 10 overs.
Left-arm pacer Natarajan began the destruction work by dismissing Bengal’s in-form batter Abhimanyu Easwaran clean bowled in the third ball of the day. He got Akash Deep, promoted up the order, in his very next over as Warrier too joined the party getting skipper Sudip Gharami caught by Baba Indrajit in the next over. Much depended on veteran Anushtup Majumder to steady the innings, but the middle-order batter could not survive long and was caught by Varun Chakaravarthy off Warrier for 11 only.
Shakib Gandhi and Shahbaz Ahmed tried to restore things but their efforts did not prove good enough as Bengal lost their last four batters for 10 runs only.
It was not a total to challenge a strong batting unit like Tamil Nadu, but Bengal pacers Ishan Porel, back after missing the last match, and Mohammad Kaif did put up an effort claiming two wickets each.
Opener N Jagadeesan laid the foundation of TN victory with a 45-ball 30 after opening the innings. Indrajit’s quickfire 17 off 10 deliveries saw the southern side reach home without much trouble.
Brief scores: Bengal 84 in 23.4 ovs (Sandeep Warrier 4/23, T Natarajan 2/20) Tamil Nadu 85/5 in 19.1 ovs (N Jagadeesan 30; Mohammad Kaif 2/12). TN won by 5 wkts.