Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25: Sayan Ghosh's five-fer and all-round Pradipta Pramanik help Bengal win a low scoring match against Kerala

Sayan Ghosh's maiden List-A five-wicket haul and Pradipta Pramanik's all-round performance helped Bengal beat Kerala by 24 runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. Ghosh finished with a career-best 33/5 while Pradipta scored an unbeaten 74 from 82 balls while batting at number 8 for Bengal.

After winning the toss, Kerala asked Bengal to bat first. Batting first, Bengal put up 206/9 on the board with efforts from the lower middle order. In reply, Kerala were bundled out for 182 as Mukesh Kumar and Kaushik Maity returned with two wickets and Sayan Ghosh picked up five wickets with the ball.

Lower middle-order saved Bengal in the first inning

During the first inning, Bengal lost their captain Sudip Kumar Gharami (4) and Abishek Porel (8) within the first five overs. Though Sudip Chatterjee (13) tried to solidify the inning, he was dismissed in the 9th over by Basil Thampi. 

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Under pressure, Bengal played out a different card by sending all-rounder Kanishk Seth to bat at number four. Seth's 32 from 60 balls allowed Bengal to have a platform for Pradipta and others to cash in. 

But, Bengal kept on losing wickets from the other end. Sumanta Gupta (24) tried his best but it was the 69-run partnership for the eighth wicket which helped Bengal bail out from the situation. Kaushik supported Pradipta very well with his 27 from 50 balls while the latter kept on finding gaps.

For the last wicket, Bengal added 35 runs as Pradipta remained unbeaten on 74 from 82 balls, the maiden List-A fifty for the young all-rounder. MD Nidheesh was the star for Kerala with his 46/3 with the ball. 

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Sayan Ghosh ran through the Kerala middle order

Though Kerala had started well during the chase, they lost the track as Mukesh Kumar and Kaushik Maity removed the openers Ahammed Imran and Rohan Kunnummal respectively. For the third wicket, Shoun Roger and captain Salman Nizar added 59 runs but after Kaushik Maity removed Shoun Roger in the 26th over, Sayan Ghosh ran through the Kerala middle order. 

Abdul Basith, Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarwate, Sharafuddeen and MD Nidheesh were dismissed by Sayan Ghosh and eventually Kerala were bundled out for 182. Salman Nizar tried his best with a 49 but could not keep up with the pace of the game. 

With 14 points in 4 games, Bengal currently leading the Group E. They will face Bihar in their next match on 3rd January. 

Match Summary

Additional Performances