da dobrowin： Uttar Pradesh were propelled into the semifinals of the Vijay MerchantTrophy (under-16) tournament by a brutal batting display by Tahir Abbas andRahat Ilahi in the knock-out match against Bengal at Narendrapur, nearKolkata on Monday
Staff Reporter08-Jan-2001Uttar Pradesh were propelled into the semifinals of the Vijay MerchantTrophy (under-16) tournament by a brutal batting display by Tahir Abbas andRahat Ilahi in the knock-out match against Bengal at Narendrapur, nearKolkata on Monday. Resuming at the overnight score of 197/3, UP batted onfor the whole of the last day. Needing just 11 more runs to grab the allimportant first innings lead when they resumed, UP ended up at 597/4 atclose of the match in 155 overs.The day belonged to Abbas and Ilahi who were associated in a fourth wicketpartnership that produced 396 runs. Abbas got himself run out, the only waya dismissal looked possible on a day when Bengal bowlers could never make abreakthrough as the two batsmen went on a run riot. Abbas made anentertaining 246 runs off 381 balls. He was at the crease for eight hoursand 46 minutes smashing 24 boundaries. Ilahi batted on through the day toremain unbeaten on 212. Ilahi was the more aggressive of the two as heenjoyed the run feast, hitting a six and 23 fours in his 281-ball innings.Ilahi was at the crease for five hours and 45 minutes making the Bengalbowling look listless. Alok Singh who came in at the fall of Abbas remainedunbeaten on 1 as the match came to an end. UP will meet Punjab in the threeday semifinal to be played at Kolkata from January 9.