Ranji Trophy: Abhimanyu, Shahbaz keep Bengal in hunt but MP firm favourites to reach final

Bengal a glimmer of hope even as Madhya Pradesh firmly held the upper hand on the penultimate day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final on Friday. On a difficult fourth day pitch, the India A batter looked flawless and milked the field at ease, slamming six fours in his 104-ball knock as Bengal were precariously placed at 96 for 4, needing another 254 runs to reach the stiff winning target of 350. Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, need six wickets in pursuit of their first Ranji final after 23 years as the match is headed for a thrilling final day finish on Saturday.

Mumbai Indians' left-arm spinner Kumar Kartikeya did the maximum damage for Madhya Pradesh. He held on to his end, bowling 19 overs non-stop to end the day with figures of 3/35 to jump to joint-second in the top wicket-takers' list this season with Jharkhand's Shabaz Nadeem (25). Mumbai left-arm spinner Shams Mulani leads the list with 37 wickets. Giving Abhimanyu company at the other end was the old warhorse Anustup Majumdar, unbeaten on 8 from 25 balls after he was dropped down to No 6 in a tactical move. Bengal also have a capable batter in Shahbaz waiting in the dressing room but it would be an onerous task on a fifth day pitch as the odd ball has started staying low and some deliveries turning square.

Sloppy umpiring and lack of DRS in Ranji Trophy also let down Bengal as they lost the wicket of an in-form Sudip Gharami (19) given lbw by umpire Ravikant Reddy who failed to notice the ball hitting his glove to a Saransh Jain delivery which was also out of the line. Abhishek Raman continued his forgettable outing this season, getting out for a second successive duck -- this time off the first ball -- as Bengal got off to a jittery start in their stiff