Madhya Pradesh sealed the last semi-final spot with a massive 355-run victory in the quarterfinal match played at the Cricket Club of India, Mumbai. The result was a forgone conclusion as batting fourth, Bengal needed 675 runs on the final day to upstage Madhya Pradesh. The highlight of the day was young Pankaj Shaw getting his maiden first-class hundred in the company of No.11 Mukesh Kumar. Stranded on 96 with the last man at the other end, Shaw was lucky to get to the milestone. His wide slash resulted in the ball ballooning to the point region, and despite three MP players getting under the ball, nobody grabbed the opportunity. Shaw eventually got to the three-figure mark, but was dismissed for 118 as he took the aerial route almost every ball.
Earlier, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary scored his 21st first-class hundred. As wickets fell around him, Tiwary played a counterattacking knock. He pounced on the loose balls and got to century in only 116 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and three sixes. Resuming on 113/3, Bengal lost Wriddhiman Saha (23) and Shreevats Goswami (0) in quick successions. With ample overs remaining in the match, Ashoke Dinda who had toiled hard in the field, had something to cheer with his maiden first-class fifty.
Bengal were eventually bowled out for 432, the third highest total ever recorded in the fourth innings of the Ranji Trophy. Ishwar Pandey once again led the attack, picking four for 93 runs while Sakure claimed three for 114 from his 22 overs.
The semi-final round will commence from February 13 at neutral venues. In the first semi-final, Saurashtra will meet Assam in Baroda while Mumbai will face Madhya Pradesh in the second semi-final in Cuttack.
Brief score: Madhya Pradesh 348 (Aditya Shrivastava 65, NamN Ojha 64, Devendra Bundela 58, Harpreet Singh Bhatia 51, Veer Pratap Singh 5-76) and 560 (Harpreet 139, Rajat Patidar 137, Bundela 72, Ankit Dane 69, Ojha 52) beat Bengal 121 (Abhimanyu Easwaran 48, Ishwar Pandey 4-45) and 432 (Manoj Tiwary 124, Pankaj Shaw 118, Ishwar Pandey 4/93, Chandrakant Sakure 3/114) by 355 runs
