Haryana 298 for 9 (Sindhu 64, Vats 62, Shami 3-61) beat Bengal 226 (Porel 57, Vats 3-33, Sindhu 2-36) by 72 runs
Vital contributions from the lower order – an unbeaten 32-ball 41 from Sumit Kumar and 29 from Rahul Tewatia – powered Haryana to 298 for 9.
Another player of interest from a national team perspective, Abhimanyu Easwaran, was key to Bengal’s chase. With openers Sudip Gharami and Abishek Porel putting on 70 in 12.5 overs for the first wicket, Abhimanyu had the opportunity to steer Bengal’s innings, but the rustiness of having spent two months on India’s Test bench in Australia showed.
Having survived a close stumping appeal, Abhimanyu attempted to break free with a succession of reverse sweeps. Eventually, the pressure of not being able to score fluently 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 played conservatively for large parts of his 57 off 78 balls. His dismissal exposed Bengal’s brittle middle order in the 28th over and Vats dismissed Anustup Majumdar, Karan Lal and Shami to help Haryana wrap up the chase for 226 in 43.1 overs.
Haryana play their quarterfinal against Gujarat in Vadodara on January 12.
