Bengal closed out 2025 by crushing Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) by nine wickets to register their third win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy on Wednesday. The game lasted just 30.1 overs.
At the Sanosara Cricket Ground in Rajkot, quicks Mukesh Kumar (4/16) and Akash Deep (4/32) bagged four wickets apiece as Bengal, opting to bowl first, bundled J&K out for a paltry 63 in 20.4 overs.
Senior pacer Mohammed Shami took 2/14 in six overs.
In reply, Bengal took 9.3 overs to reach the target. In-form opener Abishek Porel remained unbeaten on 30 off just 26 balls, while Sudip Gharami made an unbeaten 25 off 27 deliveries.
Even after such an emphatic win, Bengal are not among the top two sides of group C, lying third with 12 points from four games. Vidarbha, on the same number of points, are ahead of Bengal, because of a superior net run rate (1.430) compared to Bengal’s 1.078.
However, what should keep Bengal in good stead going forward is the comeback of pacer Mukesh, who continued from where he had finished off against Chandigarh (5/59) last Monday. His return to competitive cricket after recovering from the injury sustained during the Duleep Trophy wasn’t easy as he struggled for wickets and also went for runs.
Since recovery, Mukesh was able to take just one wicket from his first five matches (three Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy and the first two games of the ongoing competition), while his economy rate too was on the higher side.
But in Bengal’s back-to-back wins over Chandigarh and J&K, his nine wickets certainly had a massive role to play.
If Mukesh can ride his current rhythm and maintain consistency, Bengal’s chances of making the Vijay Hazare knockouts will surely rise. Not just that, given his ability with the red ball, the side’s prospects of finishing the Ranji Trophy on a good note will increase as well.
Sarfaraz statement
Sarfaraz Khan (157 off 75 balls) hit as many as 14 sixes and nine boundaries to help Mumbai post a mammoth 444/8 against Goa in their group C game in Jaipur and win the high-scoring contest by 87 runs.
Goa too batted well but couldn’t go past 357/9.
Coming out to bat at No.4, Sarfaraz blazed his way to bring up his third List A hundred, maintaining a tremendous strike rate of 209.33. Stitching a partnership of 93 with his younger brother Musheer (60) for the third wicket, Sarfaraz perished only after taking the team total closer to the 350 mark in the 42nd over.
In another group C game, Maharashtra rode Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 124 in their 129-run victory over Uttarakhand. In Ahmedabad, Devdutt Padikkal hit 113 in Karnataka’s 67-run win over Pondicherry.
Brief scores: Jammu & Kashmir 63 in 20.4 ovs (Mukesh Kumar 4/16, Akash Deep 4/32). Bengal 64/1 in 9.3 ovs. Bengal won by 9 wickets.
