Riding on their seamers' tidy show, Bengal grabbed a Super League spot from Group D with an eight-wicket win over hosts Odisha in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here Saturday.
Bengal finished with 20 points from seven matches to become the second team to qualify after Karnataka who topped group D with an all-win record.
Sent in, Karnataka suffered a batting collapse to be restricted for a modest 138 for nine. But their bowlers rose to the occasion to choke Haryana's run chase and script a thrilling last over win by 14 runs at the DRIEMS Ground in Tangi.
Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal claimed 3/16, while seamer Prasidh Krishna (3/25) also bagged a three-wicket haul to derail Haryana's run-chase.
In a must-win match for Bengal at the Barabati Stadium, seamers Ishan Porel (3/19) and Ayan Bhattacharjee (2/13) did not allow Odisha let loose, taking wickets at regular intervals as the hosts managed a paltry 108 for nine.
In reply, Wriddhiman Saha anchored the chase with a 31-ball 52 (5x4, 3x6) before vice-captain Abhimanyu Easwaran sealed the win with 44 balls to spare.
"I'm very happy that we qualified on our own merit. Our team played really well today. Ayon and Ishan have shown their consistency which has really helped us," skipper Manoj Tiwary said.
"The batsmen have also been contributing in the last two games. Wriddhiman played another good innings today and Easwaran took us home. Yes really happy and satisfied with our team performance," he added.
Brief Scores:
At Barabati Stadium: Chhattisgarh 220/5; 20 overs (Rishabh Tiwari 85; Bobby Zothansanga 2/35) beat Mizoram 104/5; 20 overs (Akhil Rajput 40; Pawandeep Singh 2/8, Shakeeb Ahmed 2/15) by 116 runs.
Odisha 108/9; 20 overs (Ishan Porel 3/19, Ayan Bhattacharjee 2/13, Ashok Dinda 2/29) lost to Bengal 111/2; 12.4 overs (Wriddhiman Saha 52, Abhimanyu Easwaran 33 not out) by eight wickets.
At DRIEMS Ground: Arunachal Pradesh 102; 18 overs (Samarth Seth 42; Mukhtar Hussain 4/8) lost to Assam 104/1; 6.4 overs (Rishabh Das 39, Pallavkumar Das 34 not out) by six wickets.
Karnataka 138/9; 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 25, Manish Pandey 25; Amit Mishra 3/26, Arun Chaprana 3/29, Sumit Kumar 2/23) beat Haryana 124; 19.1 overs (Sumit Kumar 63; Shreyas Gopal 3/16, M Prasidh Krishna 3/25) by 14 runs.
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