Mohammed Shami looked in fine rhythm as Bengal made short work of Bihar with a smart nine-wicket victory in Tuesday’s Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy game
in Rajkot.

Chasing a modest 148-run target, Bengal rode on Karan Lal’s unbeaten 94 off just 47 balls to romp home with six overs to spare. The spinner all-rounder, who has been promoted as an opener in the competition, hammered nine boundaries and six maximums to make the task easier for his side.

Pace spearhead Shami, who has played all of Bengal’s matches in the tournament so far bowling his full quota of overs each time, was once again economical, taking 1/18 off his four overs. The senior pacer, in his sixth straight appearance in the competition, finished with a very impressive economy rate of 4.50.

With his eyes set on joining the Indian team for the second half of the ongoing tour of Australia, Shami has made decent progress both in his fitness and form.

But in Tuesday’s match, Lal stole the spotlight. On quite a few occasions in this tournament, the 24-year-old has been fairly consistent at the top, giving the team brisk starts with opening partner Abishek Porel.

“Karan has been around for a few years now. I’ve been working with him... It takes a bit of time for a player to develop,” Bengal head coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla said.

Bengal are placed second in Group A at present, with Rajasthan at the top. The top two from each group will qualify for the knockout round.

Bengal’s place in the knockouts will be confirmed only if they beat Rajasthan on Thursday. Assuming Madhya Pradesh, currently No.3 in Group A, will beat Bihar on the same day, a defeat to Rajasthan may dent Bengal’s qualification prospects.

Brief scores: Bihar 147/6 in 20 ovs (Sakibul Gani 79; Mohammed Shami 1/18). Bengal 150/1 in 14 ovs (Karan Lal 94 n.o.). Bengal won by 9 wickets.