Ranji Trophy 2022-23: Bengal extend lead over MP; Majumdar shines
What's the story
Bengal extended their lead to 547 runs on Day 4 of the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2022-23 semi-finals against Madhya Pradesh. Resuming from 59/2, Bengal steered themselves to 279/9 at stumps. Number four batter Anustup Majumdar (80) top-scored as Bengal mounted pressure on the reigning champions. Meanwhile, off-spinner Saransh Jain (6/103) was the pick of the lot for MP. Here are more details.
Majumdar
Majumdar extends his rich form
Resuming from 19 off 50 deliveries, Majumdar played a fine knock to put Bengal on top. He slammed a 219-ball 80, hitting seven fours. He added 85 runs for the third wicket alongside Sudip Kumar Gharami. Notably, Majumdar slammed his third half-century in the tournament, besides scoring three hundreds. He hoarded a hundred (120) in the first innings as Bengal racked up 438.
Fifty
Maiden FC fifty for Pramanik
Coming to bat 218/7, Pradipta Pramanik ended up scoring his maiden fifty of his First-Class career. The middle-order batter has amassed 60* off 101 deliveries. He has slammed five sixes and three fours. He has gone past 250 FC runs in 12 matches. Pramanik managed a decent 21 in the first innings. He is joined by Ishan Porel (1*) at the other end.
Six-wicket haul
Jain records career-best FC figures
Jain trumped Bengal opener Karan Lal (19) at the fag end of Day 3. The off-spinner snapped up five wickets on Day 4 to register his career-best figures in First-Class cricket (6/103). It's his third instance of taking five or more wickets in an inning at the FC level. He has raced to 35 wickets in the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2022-23, averaging 20.68.
Information
Kartikeya dazzles for Bengal
While Jain shone with a six-wicket haul, Kumar Kartikeya took the remaining three wickets for Bengal on Day 4. The left-arm spinner took 3/63 in 46 overs. Meanwhile, Anubhav Agarwal (0/38), Avesh Khan (0/39), and Gaurav Yadav (0/22) remained ineffective.