Saurashtra beat Bengal but not enough for knock-out berth

Youngster Samarth Vyas struck 94 on his List A debut as Saurashtra beat Bengal by six wickets in their Vizay Hazare Trophy one-day cricket Group D match here today.
The win was, however, not enough for Saurashtra to qualify for the knockouts as they finished third in Group D with 12 points behind Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh (both on 16 points).
Only top two teams from each of the four groups make it to the knock-out phase.
Bengal finished fifth in the six-team group with four points from five matches.
Electing to bat, Bengal notched up 243 for 5 in their allotted 50 overs but Saurashtra chased down the target with four overs to spare at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.

None of the Bengal batsmen scored a half century and they were guilty of frittering away starts -- as many as three of them got out in the 40s.

Opener Abhimanyu Easwaran top-scored with a 48 while captain Manoj Tiwary (43) and Shreevats Goswami (42) were the other notable contributors for Bengal.
Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja did bulk of the damage, finishing with 3 for 46 off 10 overs.
Saurashtra's chase was driven by Vyas, who put on a 136-run opening stand with Sheldon Jackson (50), before Cheteshwar Pujara's unbeaten 50 steered them home by reaching 246 for 4 in 46 overs.