For Madhya Pradesh, it was pacer Ishwar Pandey once again who shone, picking up 4/93 to repeat his first innings efforts of 4/45.
A target of 788 was too steep to be overhauled by Bengal, but Manoj Tiwary and Pankaj Shaw did make a spirited attempt at that.
However, despite their resistance, Madhya Pradesh romped home to a comprehensive 355-run victory on the fifth day of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal match here on Sunday. Madhya Pradesh will thus take on Mumbai in the semifinal in Cuttack from February 13.
Resuming the day on 113/3, Bengal remained in the fight courtesy centuries from skipper Tiwary (124) and No. 7 batsman Shaw (118), but the others failed to stand tall around them as Bengal folded up for 432 in 91.4 overs.
Bengal lost India Test wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha in the eighth over of the morning for 23, and Madhya Pradesh removed Shreevats Goswami in the very next over as Madhya Pradesh bowlers threatened to rip apart the Bengal line-up
But Tiwary and Shaw ensured that it didn't happen. Tiwary hit 14 fours and three sixes in his 161-ball stay, while Shaw slammed 13 fours and four maximums before being the last man out after facing 137 balls. The duo put on an impressive 108 for the sixth wicket to deny the Madhya Pradesh bowlers for a prolonged period.
But Bengal's hope was savouring a draw ended when Tiwary was dismissed just at the stroke of lunch to Pandey. But Shaw kept the fight up even after losing his skipper at the othe end, first putting together 58 runs with Pragyan Ojha (27) and then 78 with Ashok Dinda (52) for the seventh and eighth wicket, respectively. Dinda was having some fun with the bat in the middle, striking 10 fours in his 42-ball knock.
For Madhya Pradesh, it was pacer Ishwar Pandey once again who shone, picking up 4/93 to repeat his first innings efforts of 4/45.
Brief scores: Madhya Pradesh 348 and 560/9 decl beat Bengal 121 and (113/3) 432 all out in 91.4 overs (M Tiwary 124, P Shaw 118, A Dinda 52; I Pandey 4/93, C Sakure 3/114, J Saxena 2/96) by 355 runs
SEMIFINAL LINE-UP
Feb 13-17
SF 1: Assam vs Saurashtra, Vadodara
SF 2: Mumbai vs MP, Cuttack
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