Haryana 298 for 9 wickets (Sindhu 64, Vats 62, Shami 3-61) defeated Bengal 226 (Porel 57, Vats 3-33, Sindhu 2-36) by 72 runs
Vital contributions from the lower order – Sumit Kumar’s unbeaten 41 off 32 balls and Rahul Tewatia’s 29 – helped Haryana reach 298 for 9.
Another player of interest from the national team’s point of view, Abhimanyu Easwaran, was crucial in Bengal’s chase. After openers Sudeep Gharami and Abhishek Porel added 70 runs in 12.5 overs for the first wicket, Abhimanyu had a chance to take the Bengal innings forward, but India’s disinterest in spending two months on the Test bench in Australia showed.
After surviving a close stumping appeal, Abhimanyu attempted to break free with consistent reverse sweeps. Eventually, the pressure of not being able to score quickly got to him and he was out attempting a slog sweep against mystery spinner Amit Rana.
Porel kept Bengal alive with a half-century but remained conservative, scoring a massive 57 off 78 balls. His dismissal exposed Bengal’s weak middle order in the 28th over and Vats helped Haryana bowl out 226 runs in 43.1 overs by dismissing Anustup Majumdar, Karan Lal and Shami.
Haryana will play its quarter-final against Gujarat on January 12 in Vadodara.
