Syed Mushtaq Ali T20: Manoj Tiwary steers Bengal to Super League berth

The captain sizzled with bat and ball to hand Bengal a six-wicket win over Assam.

Manoj Tiwary hit eight fours and a six in his 53-ball 63.

Bengal continued its unbeaten run in the East Zone league and sealed its place in the Super League stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 on Tuesday, with a six-wicket win over Assam. Captain Manoj Tiwari starred in the win, taking four wickets with his part-time leg-breaks before scoring an unbeaten 63 off 53 balls.

Opting to field, Bengal restricted Assam to 143 for nine; it chased down the target with 17 balls spare.

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Sent in to bat, Rishav Das managed 53 off 51 balls for Assam but Tiwary’s spell dented the batsman’s overall impact. In the chase, Tiwary led the way, smashing eight boundaries and a six in his match-winning knock. Besides Tiwary, Anustup Majumdar (34) and Writtick Chatterjee (31) also made useful contributions with the bat. Off-spinner Swarupam Purkyastha picked up two wickets for Assam.

Comfortably placed

Bengal is now comfortably placed in the tourney. It has 16 points from four games; Assam, on the other hand, is yet to taste success.

Meanwhile, Jharkhand also came close to securing its spot in the Super League with an eight-wicket win over Odisha. With one match to go in the East Zone League, Jharkhand is now placed second behind Bengal with 12 points.

Poddar’s 64 in vain

Despite the loss, Odisha, with eight points, is still in contention as a win in its next match can turn the tables around for it.

Electing to bat, Odisha rode on Govinda Poddar’s 64 of 42 balls to muster only 123 before being bowled out. Right-arm pacer Monu Kumar was the star for Jharkhand with figures of four for 14. Ishan Kishan (51 off 38 balls) and Ishank Jaggi (40 off 25) then played useful knocks to help Jharkhand reach the target in 16.4 overs.

• Assam 143 for 9 in 20 overs (Rishav Das 53; Manoj Tiwary 4 for 23) lost to Bengal 147 for 4 in 17.1 overs (Manoj Tiwary 63 not out) by six wickets.
• Odisha 123 all out in 19.4 overs (Govinda Poddar 64; Monu Kumar 4 for 14) lost to Jharkhand 129 for 2 in 16.4 overs (Ishan Kishan 51, Ishank Jaggi 40; Debabrata Pradhan 1 for 15) by eight wickets.