In the first semi final of an already intriguing Ranji trophy season, Bengal and Madhya Pradesh square off after coming off indifferent results. While Bengal won on a huge first innings lead against Jharkhand, MP struck off a rather timid Punjab side to make their place in the final 4.
Match Preview
After Bengal made history with 9 of their top 11 scorers getting a 50 plus score, they will be keen on an encore against a fancied MP outfit, who are coming off a resounding win against Punjab.
While Bengal would want to make the final after being runners up in the last season, MP, who were runners up in the 1999 season would want their wait to end as well
Team Preview
The likes of Rajat Patidar and Kumar Kartikeya stood up when it mattered the most for Madhya Pradesh. After bowling out Punjab for a modest 219, they took a crucial first innings lead of 178 runs courtesy Shubham Sharma and Patidar. Vinay Choudhary picked up 5 wickets and Punjab needed a good second innings score to make a comeback
In the second innings, it was Kartikeya’s turn as he picked up 6 wickets in the second innings and he along with Saransh Jain ensured that the target was less than 30 runs for MP to make their first ranji trophy semi finals in a long time.
Bengal on the other hand rode on Abhimanyu Eswaran’s 61 and Sudip Gharamis’ mammoth 186, but it was a thundering 18 ball 53 by Akash Deep, that included 8 sixes that spelt doom for Jharkhand. Shabaz Ahmed too chipped in with 4 wickets and a half century and MP will have their task cut out in a crucial game.
Key Players
Manoj Tiwary – A stalwart of the Ranji trophy, expects the captain to come good at a crucial juncture for his side.
Shahbaz Ahmed – He impressed for RCB in the recent IPL as well and picked up 5 wickets in the last game. Another such performance is needed.
Rajat Patidar – After missing out on a 100 the last time around, he would want to make up for it this time around.
Match Prediction
According to our prediction, Bengal is the likely winner at this stage as they are the team with the better momentum at this stage.
Betting Tips
Bengal is predicted to be the winner of this match Reader, have a look at the betting tips on individual player performances.
Abhimanyu Eswaran – A calm and composed opener, we predict Eswaran to be the top scorer in the match as he has had a good Ranji Season so far and back him to deliver in this must win game for Bengal.
Rajat Patidar – We predict the maximum number of fours to be hit by this underrated, gem of a batsman who will be keen to MP’s chances to the final.
Kumar Kartikeya – A handy left arm tweaker, he will be keen to pick up more wickets after a terrific 6 fer in the quarter final and back him to take the most scalps.
Betting Odds.
Bengal is the clear favorite for this match and to get the best odds for the game, our recommendation to all of you is visit www.lotusfair.com and sign up as they are offering a FREE SIGN UP BONUS OF INR 5000 without any deposits.
Predicted Playing XI
Bengal
A Easwaran (c), Manoj Tiwary, Ritwik Roy Chowdhury, Anustup Majumdar, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shahbaz, Abishek Porel (wk), Nilkantha Das, Ishan Porel, Mukesh Kumar, Sayan Shekhar Mandal.
Madhya Pradesh
Aditya Shrivastava (c), Akshat Raghuwanshi, Anubhav Agarwal, Rajat Patidar, Gaurav Yadav, Himanshu Mantri (wk), Puneet Datey, Saransh Jain, Shubham S Sharma, Yash Dubey, Kumar Kartikeya
Match Details
Match: Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh, 1st Semi final
Event: Ranji Trophy 2021-22.
Venue: KSCA Cricket , Alur ,Bangalore.
Date: 14th June, 2022
Time: 09:30 IST
LotusFair Prediction : Bengal is Lotus Fair favorite.