Manoj Tiwary struck an unbeaten 61 and produced a 74-run partnership with Wriddhiman Saha to help Bengal beat Karnataka by four wickets and enter final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy cricket championship in Vadodara on Saturday.
Electing to field in the semifinals, Bengal first restricted Karnataka at 230 for nine in the stipulated 50 overs and then came back strongly to overhaul the target with one over to spare.
Chasing 231 to win, Bengal was given a blistering start by opener Arindam Das (59 off 62 balls) and SP Goswami (45 off 59 balls), who stitched together 111 runs in 19 overs.
Karnataka's Udit Patel tried to stop the run flow, removing both the openers and reducing the rivals to 116 for 20.5 overs.
However, first down Tiwary soon took control of the match and even through he kept losing wickets at the other end, he in company of Wriddhiman Saha (36 off 101 balls) helped Bengal surpass the target in the 49th over.
Earlier, AB Dinda (2/50), LR Shukla (2/52) and SL Pakre (2/34) helped Bengal restrict Karnataka at 230 for nine.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, AB Dinda (2/50), LR Shukla (2/52) and SL Pakre (2/34) helped Bengal restrict Karnataka at 230 for nine.
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