Vijay Hazare Trophy: Abishek Porel's unbeaten 170 help Bengal beat Delhi

Bengal wicket-keeper batter Abishek Porel smashed an unbeaten 170 from 130 balls to help Bengal chase down 273 within 41.3 overs in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25 opener against Delhi on Saturday. 

Batting first Ayush Badoni's Delhi had put up a fighting 272 on board at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. But, despite losing partners at the other end, Abishek Porel singlehandedly took Bengal over the line by scoring highest score by any Bengal batter in Vijay Hazare Trophy's history.

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Rawat and Himmat scored fifties for Delhi

For Delhi, wicket-keeper batter Anuj Rawat scored an unbeaten 79 in 66 balls while Himmat Singh scored a quick 60 from 57 balls to take Delhi to a good total in the first inning. Captain Ayush Badoni (41) and Vaibhav Kandpal (47) also played their parts as well. 

Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for Bengal with 66/4.

Porel mascaraed Delhi bowling lineup

During the chase, Bengal lost Karan Lal (5), but Abishek Porel gave them a flying start and he did not stop hitting boundaries from there on. Captain Sudip Gharami (23) and Anustup Majumdar (37) had the best sits in the house as Porel massacred Delhi's bowling which had Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini. 

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Porel and Majumdar's  92 run partnership gave the platform nearly had taken Bengal home. But, after Majumdar's wicket, Sudip Chatterjee (15) and Sumanta Gupta (13*) played their hands as Porel scored his first LIST-A ton of his career.

Porel's unbeaten 170 run from 130 balls had 18 fours and 7 sixes, which is also a record for any Bengal batter in this tournament.

With this win Bengal are now at second position in Group E and will face Tripura next on 26th December. 

Bengal's schedule in Vijay Hazare Trophy 

• vs Delhi - 21st December - 9 am - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad
• vs Tripura - 26th December - 9 am - NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad
• vs Baroda - 28th December - 9 am - Gymkhana Ground, Hyderabad
• vs Kerala - 31st December - 9 am - NexGen Cricket Ground, Hyderabad
• vs Bihar - 3rd January 2025 - 9 am - Gymkhana Ground, Hyderabad
  
• vs MP - 5th January 2025 - 9 am - Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad