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
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.
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.
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.
