Bowlers lived up to expectations and completed the task as Bengal defeated Hyderabad by 72 runs for their second straight win in the group phase of the Ranji Trophy in Cuttack on Sunday.

Set a target of 239, Hyderabad were already three down for just 16 at stumps on Day III at the Barabati Stadium. On the fourth and final day, pacer Akash Deep (4/41) and Shahbaz Ahmed (3/41), with his left-arm spin, bundled Hyderabad out for 166.

With 12 points now from two matches, Bengal are at the top in Elite Group B and also well placed to qualify for the knockout stage of the competition.

Bengal could well have completed the formalities early. Akash struck off the day’s first ball when he cleaned up Himalay Agarwal. Soon Shahbaz also joined him in decimating Hyderabad, who were reduced to 85/ 6 a little before lunch on Sunday.

However, Tilak Varma (90), roped in by Mumbai Indians for Rs 1.7 crore in the IPL auction earlier this month, waged a battle and stitched a partnership with Ravi Teja for the seventh wicket, raising hope for Hyderabad. But Shahbaz broke the stand, accounting for Teja.

Varma’s resistance too couldn’t last long thereafter. He was the last wicket to fall, as Akash picked up his fourth scalp of the innings to seal a win for Bengal. “Each and every player contributed for the team and we’ve been able to register a comfortable win. It feels really good,” Shahbaz, adjudged Man of the Match for his all-round showing, said.

Speaking about his role in the side, the all-rounder added: “I’m obviously enjoying it. I’ve been playing the role of an all-rounder for quite some time now, so I’m always prepared to give my best for the team.

“There wasn’t much for the spinners on the wicket. I had to bowl as Hyderabad had a number of left-handed batters in their XI. It’s good that I got important wickets.”

For Akash, who’s also Shahbaz’s teammate at Royal Challengers Bangalore, the focus was on making the rival batsmen play as much as possible as there wasn’t enough swing after the initial stages.

“I tried to bowl more back-of-a-length balls and made sure the Hyderbad batsmen couldn’t leave them.

“The ball wasn’t really swinging much as the game progressed, so that necessary bit of adjustment had to be made,” Akash told The Telegraph.

Bengal promised that there will be no let up in intensity in their final group phase game versus Chandigarh, that begins on Thursday at the Barabati Stadium. “We want to win that game as well to confirm our berth in the knockout stage,” a confident Akash said.

Brief scores: Bengal 242 & 201. Hyderabad 205 & 166 (Tilak Varma 90; Akash Deep 4/41, Shahbaz Ahmed 3/41). Bengal won by 72 runs. .