Bengal beat Railways to complete Ranji semifinals line-up

Bengal beat Railways by 48 runs at the Eden Gardens here Sunday to reach their first Ranji Trophy semifinal since the 2006-07 season.

Set a 271-run target, Railways were bowled out for 222 on day five of their quarterfinal match. Bengal pace spear head Ashok Dinda (2/77), Sourav Sarkar (2/22), SS Paul (2/47) and Laxmi Ratan Shukla (3/45) shared the spoils.

Bengal meet Maharashtra in the first semifinal beginning Jan 18 in Indore while Punjab play Karnataka in Mohali simultaneously.

Play on day five started an hour late owing to rain and overcast conditions.

Arindam Ghosh (54) and Nitin Bhille (5) came out in the middle with Railways at 117 for three and needing another 155 for the win.

The two batted for about an hour before Dinda provided the breakthrough for Bengal, trapping Bhille in front of the stumps.

Wickets kept falling regularly thereafter and the visitors' second innings eventually lasted 83.3 overs.

Brief scores:

Bengal 317 and 267 beat Railways 314 and 222 by 48 runs