Jaffer 158* powers Vidarbha; Bengal, Services earn bonus-point wins
The 39-year-old stitched three strong partnerships to stretch Vidarbha's lead, while Ishan Porel's five-for helped Bengal climb to the second spot on the Group D table
ESPNcricinfo staff
19-Nov-2017
Wasim Jaffer drives during his half-century • Fotocorp
Ishan Porel's 5 for 32 helped Bengal inflict an innings defeat on Punjab, who were bundled out for 213 in their second innings, in Amritsar. The bonus-point win took Bengal to second place in Group D.
Abhishek Raman resumed batting for Bengal, with him racing to his second 150-plus score of the season early on the day. Following Shreevats Goswami's dismissal in the 100th over, a collapse was triggered by Siddarth Kaul, as three more wickets fell within the next five overs, leaving Bengal at 316 for 6. The lower order chipped in with 50 more runs, as Bengal declared on 379 shortly before lunch.
Although Punjab were off to a decent start in their second innings, seamer Porel prompted a top-order collapse as they lost three wickets in three successive overs. Anmolpreet Singh and Gurkeerat Singh sparked the resistance for Punjab with their 90-run fourth-wicket stand, taking them to 129 for 3 in the next 17 overs. However, Bengal bowlers struck back-to-back, reducing the hosts to 189 for 8, before Porel came back to clear the tail and helped Bengal complete the big win.
Diwesh Pathania's seven-for handed Chhattisgarh an innings defeat as the hosts slipped from 79 for 2 to 133 all out on the penultimate day in Raipur, as Services brought up their first win of the season.
Chhattisgarh lost Siddharth Chandrakar and Ashutosh Singh early on the day, following which Abhimanyu Chauhan and Manoj Singh shared a 41-run partnership for the second-wicket. Pathania triggered Chhattisgarh's first collapse as he dismissed four batsmen within the next eight overs. Rishabh Tiwary, who had retired hurt on the second day, came back to strike a 36-run stand with Sumit Ruikar. The second collapse followed - it was Bahadur's turn this time, as he picked three wickets in a span of three overs. Pathania returned in the next over and dismissed Prateek Sinha, to finish with match figures of 11 for 86.
Wasim Jaffer's unbeaten 158 underpinned Vidarbha's dominance as they declared on 427 against Goa on the penultimate day in Porvorim. Following a 117-run partnership with Sanjay Ramaswamy, Jaffer went on to strike an 87-run stand with Shalabh Shrivastava (116-ball 45), taking Vidarbha to a first-innings lead. Ganesh Satish joined Jaffer at the crease for the fourth-wicket, as the pair went on to add 171 runs more before the declaration. In their second innings, Goa lost Sumiran Amonkar and Prathmesh Gawas within the first six overs and were 19 for 2 at stumps, trailing by 169 runs.