Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shami lead Bengal’s rout of Assam

Abhimanyu Easwaran’s controlled hundred guided Bengal to an 85-run win over Assam in their Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025 Group B match at the Sanosara Cricket Ground ‘B’ near Rajkot on Saturday.

The Bengal skipper (102, 116b, 10×4) tied up one end for almost 40 overs to set up the springboard for some late-order fireworks that helped his team post 302 for seven in 50 overs. Mohammed Shami’s three-wicket haul and three run outs helped Bengal restrict Assam to 217 all out in 42.1 overs. 

Bengal suffered an early jolt after being put in to bat on a chilly, misty morning as Abishek Porel offered a leading edge to cover on 11, just balls after essaying a stunning pick-up shot over square-leg for a six. Wicket-taker Akash Sengupta had to leave the ground briefly with nausea-like symptoms, following which Easwaran and Sudip Gharami combined for a 64-run association, where balls too wide of off-stump were dispatched to the fence. 

The boundaries dried up after the 10-over mark, with Assam employing both a deep third-man and deep cover against the two right-handers. Easwaran and Anustup Majumdar looked to take the game deep, relying on pushes into the gaps to keep the singles coming. Majumdar perished in his attempt to play a slog sweep off left-arm spinner Avinav Choudhury. Notwithstanding a dropped catch at slip, Easwaran motored on to a century in 111 balls, but fell immediately after, caught and bowled by Avinav. 

Shahbaz Ahmed (66 n.o., 57b, 6×4, 2×6), who had started his innings with two early boundaries, switched to the role of anchor, batting through till the end. Akash Deep and Shami contributed five fours and two sixes between them as Bengal breached the 300-run mark in the final over. 

With the ball, Shami struck in his first over, forcing Pradyun Saikia to drive one straight into the hands of Gharami at short cover. Saurav Dihingia and skipper Sumit Ghadigaonkar (40, 54b, 4×4) stitched a 45-run stand involving some poor running between the wickets. The risky rotation of strike eventually brought about Dihingia’s downfall on 31. 

Bengal suffered a setback when Porel was taken off the field holding his left shoulder after attempting to dive and stop a ball that was trickling to deep third. He was replaced behind the sticks by substitute Sumit Nag. Ghadigaonkar waged a lone battle, trying to construct partnerships with the middle order before he was undone by a Shami yorker. Denish Das’ stubborn knock (43, 52b, 3×4) could only delay the inevitable as Bengal sealed its fourth win in five matches to maintain its chance of qualifying for the quarterfinal. 

Published on Jan 03, 2026