Mahendra Singh Dhoni en route to his 44-ball 102 versus Kalighat at the Eden on Thursday. Picture by Santosh Ghosh

Calcutta: It was Mahendra Singh Dhoni again who set the Eden Gardens on fire for the second time in three days with his swashbuckling 102 off just 44 balls on Thursday.

The Team India’s ODI wicketkeeper helped Shambazar beat Kalighat by six wickets to reach theirmaiden final in the P. Sen Trophy.

Kalighat, who have four current and two former Bengal players in their ranks, looked totally lost in the face of the Dhoni assault.

Kalighat, opting to bat first, looked set to reach around 270 ? they were 207 for three after 38.3 overs ? but lost their last seven wickets for only 38 runs. Manoj Tewari top-scored with 83 before he was trapped leg before by Tamil Nadu’s Sridharan Sriram.

Sanjib Sanyal, a frontline Bengal allrounder, scored a quick-fire 32 off 23 sharing an opening stand of 48 with Mohammed Ziauddin in the first six overs. Ziauddin contributed 32.

Only Safi Ahmed made 42 after that. None of the other batsmen could put up a challenge againstShib Shankar Paul, Sriram and S.E. Ahmed. Dhoni, while rolling his arms, also picked up a wicket and restricted Kalighat to 240.

The stage was set for Dhoni to launch the assault. Opening with Wriddhiman Saha, the Jharkhand player added 117 runs for the first wicket in just nine overs. Dhoni toyed with Bengal’s three frontline bowlers in Sabir Ali, Sanyal and Tewari. On way to his hundred, Dhoni hit seven sixes and 13 boundaries.

He took only 42 balls to reach the three-figure mark. During his 45-minute stay at the wicket, the Jharkhand batsman smashed allround the wicket while exposing Bengal’s lacklustre bowling attack.

Saha, the other opener, who batted sensibly remained unbeaten on 63. “With this sort of batting display, you cannot expect your bowlers to do much,” said Kalighat coach Prasanto Ghosh.

Shambazar will face the winners of CAB President’s XI and Sporting Union, at the Eden on Sunday. The Deep-Dasgupta-led CAB President’s XI will take on Sporting Union in the second semi-final on Friday.

BRIEF SCORES

Kalighat Club 240 in 47 ovs (Manoj Tewari 83, Safi Ahmed 42, Sanjib Sanyal 32, Md. Ziauddin 32; Shib Shankar Paul 3/41, Sridharan Sriram 3/43, S.E. Ahmed 2/38). Shambazar Club 242/4 in 31.3 ovs (M.S. Dhoni 102, Wriddhiman Saha 62 ..). Shambazar Club won by 6 wkts.