Bengal took barely a session to complete the formalities on their way to the Ranji Trophy semi-final at Kalyani on Tuesday.

Resuming their second innings on 64/3 on Day 5, Andhra were bundled out for 244 in their second innings as Bengal registered a comprehensive innings and 90-run victory.

The foundation of the win was laid by Sudip Kumar Gharami's monumental 299. Andhra had earlier conceded a massive first-innings lead of 334 runs.

Bengal will now take on Jammu and Kashmir in the semi-final from February 15, while Karnataka and Uttarakhand face off in the other last-four clash.

"We are not dependent on any individual... everyone has been performing well in every match to bring about a change in our fortunes. It has been a team effort so far," Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran said.

He lauded the efforts of Akash Deep and Shahbaz Ahmed in particular in the quarter-final. Shahbaz has picked up 39 wickets in 13 innings this season.

Bengal will have to counter the threat of Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi, the second-highest wicket-taker in Ranji this season with 46 wickets in 14 innings.

Andhra had hoped to avoid an outright defeat but left-arm spinner Shahbaz struck some vital blows on a crumbling fifth day pitch to script a big win for Bengal.

Shahbaz returned impressive figures of 4/72, while Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal picked up two wickets. There was a wicket each for Akash Deep, Sumanta Gupta and Anustup Majumdar.

Out-of-favour India seamer Mohammed Shami, who sizzled with the bat in Bengal's huge first-innings total of 629, bowled only three overs when Andhra batted for the second time in the match.

Nitish Kumar Reddy was the only silver lining for Andhra as the India all-rounder made 90 off 144 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

Needing 270 runs to make Bengal bat again, Andhra required a partnership between Reddy and Ricky Bhui (30) but the skipper was dismissed by Shahbaz after he could add just 12 runs to his overnight score.

Soon Shahbaz took the wicket of Saurabh Kumar and then removed Reddy to finish Andhra's hopes.

Tripurana Vijay (46) and Kalidindi Raju (25) got some runs under their belt but all they could do was delay the inevitable before Sumanta picked up the wicket of Vijay to end Andhra's chances.

Wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat did not bat because of an injury.

Brief scores: Andhra 295 & 244 (Nitish Reddy 90; Shahbaz Ahmed 4/72). Bengal 629. Bengal won by an innings and 90 runs. MoM: Sudip Gharami.