NEW DELHI: Seasoned pacer Mohammed Shami delivered 15 dot balls in his sixth consecutive SMAT T20 fixture, while Karan Lal produced a remarkable 94 runs from 47 deliveries, leading Bengal to a commanding nine-wicket victory over Bihar in a Group A encounter in Rajkot.
Playing without their young talent Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Bihar posted 147 for 6 in their allocated 20 overs, with Sayan Ghosh proving effective with figures of 2/32.
Bengal successfully chased down the target in 14 overs, with Lal's innings featuring nine boundaries and six maximums.
The spotlight remained on Shami, who maintained his disciplined bowling performance, recording figures of 1/18 in 4 overs, following his previous spell of 0/16 in 4 overs against Meghalaya.
In the past 11 days, Shami has participated in six T20 matches, delivering 23.3 overs out of a possible 24. His wicket tally stands at five, with three dismissals coming against Hyderabad.
The uncertainty continues regarding Shami's selection for the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Brief Scores: Bihar 147/6 in 20 overs (Sayan Ghosh 2/32, Mohammed Shami 1/18). Bengal 150/1 (Karan Lal 94 not out, Sudip Kr Gharami 32 not out). Bengal won by 9 wickets.
Delhi lose to Kushagra's Jharkhand
Kumar Kushagra played a brilliant innings of 55 runs from 30 deliveries, leading Jharkhand to victory against Delhi in a Group C encounter in Mumbai.
Delhi could only muster 154 runs for 8 wickets in their allotted 20 overs, with Priyansh Arya being the sole standout performer, scoring 38 runs from 22 balls. Jharkhand successfully chased down the target with one over remaining, losing five wickets in the process.
Experienced pacer Ishant Sharma, who is using this competition as preparation for the IPL, finished with figures of 2 wickets for 38 runs.
Despite this setback, Delhi maintained their position at the top of Group C with five victories from six matches and one game remaining. Their final fixture is against Arunachal Pradesh, where they are favourites to win and secure their place in the knockout stages.
Brief Scores: Delhi 154/8 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 38, Anuj Rawat 49, Bal Krishna 2/27). Jharkhand 157/5 (Kumar Kushagra 55 not out, Ishan Sharma 2/38). Jharkhand on by 5 wickets.
