Karan powers Bengal to a win over Bihar

Karan Lal's unbeaten 94 leads Bengal to victory over Bihar in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group-A match.

Opening batter Karan Lal continued his spectacular run in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as his unbeaten 94 powered Bengal to a nine-wicket win over Bihar in a group-A encounter at the Niranjan Shah Stadium Ground C here on Tuesday.

Chasing 148, Karan hit six sixes and nine fours but missed out on a well-deserved century after the ball flew off Sudip Gharami’s edge and went for four to finish the chase in 14 overs.

Karan’s aggressive knock didn’t allow Bihar bowlers to apply any pressure despite removing Abishek Porel in the third over. Porel hit four fours enroute his 19 off 10 but got caught at covers driving the ball off Prashant Singh.

Captain Gharami played the second fiddle with Karand uring their 122-run stand as Bihar bowlers ran out of ideas to control the scoring rate.

Earlier, Sakibul Gani played a brilliant knock of 79, showcasing a clear gulf between him and the other batters.

After negating Mohammed Shami and Kanishk Seth’s new ball spell, Gani took the game forward on a slow and low surface where boundaries were a luxury.

Gani ran hard and began to accelerate once he crossed his 40s with boundaries against Sayan Ghosh and Seth. The right-hander used the pace to target behind square leg region and looked set to take Bihar close to the 160-run mark.