Vijay Hazare Trophy: Bengal's Abishek Porel slams 170* versus Delhi
Rising cricket star Abishek Porel showcased his brilliance in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25. The 22-year-old wicketkeeper-batter scored an incredible unbeaten 170 off just 130 balls, guiding Bengal to a six-wicket victory over Delhi in the Group E match at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium. His phenomenal innings was laced with 18 fours and seven sixes. Delhi managed 272/7 in 50 overs. In response, Porel's sensational ton saw Bengal manage 274/4 in 41.3 overs.
Porel's strategy and celebration
Porel's strategy worked wonders as he played some extravagant strokes. Although he was dropped twice at 25 and 92, he was unfazed and kept steering his side toward victory. After reaching the coveted three-figure mark, Porel celebrated in a Shubman Gill style. Notably, he stood firm against an attack which had Indian cricket stars Ishant Sharma and Navdeep Saini.
Bengal's partnerships with the bat help them big
Bengal were able to keep a steady run rate due to crucial partnerships during the match. Porel and Sudip Kumar Gharami added 54 runs for the 2nd wicket. Alongside Anustup Majumdar, Porel added another 92 runs before the latter stitched an unbeaten 68-run stand for the 5th wicket alongside Sumanta Gupta. Barring Porel's 170*, no other Bengal batter scored a fifty. Ayush Badoni claimed 2/44 for Delhi and was the pick of the bowlers.
Maiden century in List A cricket for Porel
As per ESPNcricinfo, in 12 List A matches, Porel owns 445 runs at 49.44. He hammered his maiden ton in the 50-over format. He also has two fifties under his belt.
How did the Delhi batters fare?
Earlier in the game, Delhi got to a score of 272 for seven in 50 overs with major contributions from opener Vaibhav Kandpal (47), captain Badoni (41), Himmat Singh (60), and wicketkeeper-batter Anuj Rawat (79 not out).
Bengal's bowling performance and Kumar's 4-wicket haul
Despite the lack of Indian star Mohammed Shami, Bengal's bowlers did a commendable job on a batter-friendly pitch. Mukesh Kumar was the most effective bowler for Bengal, taking four wickets. This was Mukesh's maiden four-fer in List A cricket. In 31 matches, he now owns 35 scalps. Delhi's total was largely due to a crucial 101-run stand for the sixth wicket between Singh and Rawat. The latter showed his batting prowess with some exceptional strokes in the slog overs.
