The Rajasthan cricket team suffered its second successive defeat in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 after losing to Bengal by seven wickets at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Thursday.
The defeat, coupled with Madhya Pradesh’s eight-wicket victory over Bihar in another group game, saw Rajasthan finish third in the SMAT 2024 Group A standings with 20 points from seven matches and consequently miss a spot in the knockouts.
Only the top two from each group qualified for the knockout stage. Bengal topped Group A with 24 points while MP came in second with the same number of points but an inferior net run rate.
Kumar Kartikeya, with bowling figures of 2/14 in his four overs, played a defining role in Madhya Pradesh’s win over Bihar which eventually settled the group and knocked Rajasthan out of the competition. Kartikeya will represent the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025.
Rajasthan had won their opening five games but fell off at the end, first losing to last year’s champions Punjab and then Bengal.
After an early collapse, Kartik Sharma (46) and captain Mahipal Lomror (45) helped guide Rajasthan to 153/9 in 20 overs. Abishek Porel’s match-winning 48-ball 78 and skipper Sudip Kumar Gharami’s unbeaten 50, however, helped Bengal chase down the target with nine balls to spare.
Sent in to bat first, Rajasthan were rocked early as Mohammed Shami knocked over Abhijeet Tomar for a duck with the second ball of the innings. Bharat Sharma and Deepak Hooda also departed cheaply as Rajasthan were reeling at 29/3.
An 84-run stand between Sharma and Lormor steadied Rajasthan’s innings but losing both set batters in quick succession saw them crumble for a second time in the match as none of the lower order batsmen managed to put up a strong front.
Shami, with 3/26 in his four overs, was Bengal’s standout man with the ball while Shahbaz Ahmed and Sayan Ghosh scalped two wickets each. Writtick Chatterjee also contributed with the crucial wicket of Lormor’s.
Bengal lost opener Karan Lal in the penultimate ball of the opening over but a 111-run stand between Porel and Ghrami set the platform for a comfortable chase. Shahbaz Ahmed (18 not out) also contributed with the bat to help his captain take Bengal past the finish line.
Aniket Choudhary was Rajasthan’s top bowler with 2/37 while Kamlesh Nagarkoti accounted for top scorer Porel.
Bengal vs Rajasthan, Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024, brief scores: RAJ 153/9 in 20 overs (Kartik Sharma 46, Mohammed Shami 3/26) lost to BEN 154/3 in 18.3 overs (Abhishek Porel 78, Aniket Choudhary 2/37) by seven wickets.
