Madhya Pradesh defeat Bengal by 5 wickets

With Rajat Patidar, Harpreet Singh and Anand Singh scoring blistering half centuries, Madhya Pradesh outplayed Bengal by five wickets in the Vijay Hazare ODI tournament group D match here.
Put into bat, Bengal made 262 but their bowlers failed to defend the total as Madhya Pradesh overcame the target in 46.5 overs at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Khandheri stadium.
Bengal got off to a flying start with openers Abhimanyu Eswaran (45) and Sayan Shekhar Mondal (88) adding 108 runs for the first wicket in 21 overs.
After this, Jalaj Saxena struck twice removing India wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha (18) and skipper Manoj Tiwary (3) in quick succession. Pankaj Shaw's run-a-ball 28 with one four and a six helped Bengal reach 262.

Puneet Datey, Chandrakant Sakure and Saxena bagged two wickets each.
Madhya Pradesh had a bad start with opener Saxena (4) and one down Naman Ojha (1) falling cheaply.

Patidar, who opened the innings with Saxena, then shared 135 runs stand for the third wicket with Harpreet Singh as both notched up their respective half centuries.
Patidar made a blistering 63 off 78 deliveries smashing seven fours and one six, while Harpreet chipped in with 71 off 72 balls with nine fours.
Anand Singh remained unbeaten on 54 with Parth Shahani (31) as they guided MP to an impressive win.
While Ashok Dinda grabbed two wickets, India pacer Mohmmad Shami and spinner Pragyan Ojha bagged a wicket each.

Brief Score - Bengal 262 all out off 50 overs (Sayan Shekhar Mondal 88, Abhimanyu Eswaran 45, Puneet Datey 2-42, Chandrakant Shakure 2-56)
Madhya Pradesh 263 for 5 off 46.5 overs (Harpreet Singh 71, Rajat Patidar 63, Anand Singh 54 not out, Ashok Dindia 2-35) by 5 wickets.