CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, Nov 21: A day which saw many records tumble in List-A cricket around the globe, the Vijay Hazare trophy match between Bengal and Services saw batters pile up runs from both sides. In the high-scoring game, Bengal clinched victory by 47 runs.
Batting first, Bengal set up a huge run chase for Services by scoring 426-4 in 50 overs. The opening pair of Sudip Kumar Gharami (162) and skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran (122) scored 298 for the opening wicket. A quick-fire run by Shahbaz Ahmed (59) helped Bengal score 426.
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In reply, Services gave Bengal a tough fight but ended up scoring 379 in 50 overs, falling just 47 runs short. Arjun Sharma scored 75 and was also the top scorer for Services.
In the other matches held in Ranchi, Maharashtra beat Mizoram by 183 runs whereas Mumbai chased down the target of 140 against Pondicherry in just 25 overs.
Earlier in the day, Tamil Nadu’s Narayan Jagadeesan broke several list A records as he scored 277 runs in just 141 balls against Arunachal Pradesh. The innings included 14 sixes as well. He also became the first player in the world to score 5 consecutive list A hundreds, one better than the Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara.
His Innings, along with Sai Sudarshan (154) helped TN to set up a massive score of 506, which again is a world record. In reply, Arunachal Pradesh was bowled out for a mere 71 runs. TN won the match by a margin of 435 runs.
