Calcutta, May 4 :
Calcutta, May 4:
What was supposed to be just another local match turned out to be special with Sourav Ganguly turning up for CAB President's XI against Mohun Bagan in today's P. Sen Trophy match at Eden Gardens.
The India skipper didn't disappoint, hitting a polished 72, but that was not enough as Mohun Bagan beat his team to a berth in the semi-finals with a well-compiled seven-wicket win.
Coming in at No. 3 after the early loss of Manavendra Yadav, Sourav found an able partner in cousin and fellow left-hander Subhradeep Ganguly (28) to add 70 for the second wicket.
He added 70 more with Mainak Sengupta (31) for the third before both fell in quick succession. Sourav's 80-ball knock included seven fours and two sixes. He was caught by Utpal Chatterjee at widish long-on off Vishal Yadav.
The CAB team failed to accelerate after that and stopped at 225 for eight in 46 overs.
Overs were reduced as play started an hour late following the early-morning rain. Mohun Bagan were penalised two overs for slow bowling and had to get the runs in 44 overs. They did that in 37.5 overs.
Nikhil Haldipur played an uncharacteristic and responsible innings of 86 and Sanjiv Goel played the role of aggressor for his 78. Their unbroken fourth-wicket stand produced 132 in 21.4 overs. Haldipur's 96-ball innings included six fours, while Goel struck three fours and four sixes off 77 balls.
Sourav's team was severely handicapped in bowling and barring Sanjib Sanyal, none managed to create any impact on the batsmen. The skipper chanced his arm too, but that was not as effective as his batting as he went wicketless in six overs.
BRIEF SCORES: CAB President's XI 225/8 in 46 ovs (Sourav Ganguly 72, Sanjib Sanyal 30 n.o., Laxmi Ratan Shukla 3/40, Vishal Yadav 2/37). Mohun Bagan 226/3 in 37.5 ovs (Nikhil Haldipur 86 n.o., Sanjiv Goel 78 n.o., Laxmi Ratan Shukla 28). Bagan won by 7 wkts.
Schools' cricket
New Alipore Multipurpose, Scottish Church Collegiate School and Jodhpur Boys posted wins in the CAB inter-school under-19 cricket tournament today. The first two and Naktala HS booked the remaining three slots in the knockout second round.
SUMMARISED SCORES
Bhowanipore Gujarati Education Society 113 in 19.5 ovs (Ritesh Lal Jha 40, Goutam Dey 3/16, Abhirup Ganguly 3/21). Scottish Church 117/4 in 22.3 ovs (Soumyadeep Sarkar 51). Scottish Church won by 6 wkts.
Khalsa HS 149/9 in 25 ovs (Sanjay Pathak 39, Supratik Sinha 4/18, Arijit Basu Mallik 3/33). Jodhpur Boys 152/6 in 24 ovs (Saibal Gupta 62). Jodhpur Boys won by 4 wkts.
Calcutta Anglo Gujarati School 123/6 in 30 ovs (Kaushik Thakkar 48). New Alipore Multipurpose 124/0 in 15.4 ovs (Santadip Paul 52 n.o., Anindya Das 55 n.o.). New Alipore Multipurpose won by 10 wkts.