Shahbaz Ahmed followed up Manoj Tiwary’s unbeaten 303 with a hat-trick as Bengal clobbered Hyderabad by an innings and 303 runs in the Ranji Trophy Group A game at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground in Kalyani on Tuesday.
Shahbaz, with his left-arm spin, recorded the hat-trick and finished with 4/26 in 8.3 overs as Hyderabad were bundled out for 171 in their first innings after resuming on 83/5.
Following on, Hyderabad were bowled out for 161 as Shahbaz struck twice and pacer Akash Deep scalped four wickets. Bengal are now second in the Elite Cross Pool with 19 points from five matches. Their next match, versus Delhi, will be held at the Eden only.
The day belonged to Shahbaz, who’s the seventh player to register a hat-trick for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. Mohammed Shami, back in 2012-13 versus Madhya Pradesh in Indore, was the last to do so for Bengal.
Keen on playing the role of Ravindra Jadeja for both Bengal and his IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore, Shahbaz, who idolises Ben Stokes, said: “This hat-trick will boost my confidence further.”
His mind already on the Delhi game, Shahbaz looks forward to adjusting his game on a surface that won’t offer much for spinners.
“I will ensure I don’t complicate things. You just need some planning. There’s likely to be more grass on the Eden pitch, but spinners do pick up wickets on those tracks.”
