Delhi, Mar 12: Former India international, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, put up an all-round performance to help Bengal clinch their first ever Vijay Hazare Trophy, against Mumbai, in the final played at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium here in Delhi today. Shukla took four for 38 and then hit an unbeaten 106 as Bengal successfully chased down a competitive score of 248 posted by Mumbai in 46.1 overs.

Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, Mumbai had yet another excellent start as Wasim Jaffer stuck 61 off just 48 deliveries in an 83-run opening stand with Ajinkya Rahane. However, Shukla brought Bengal right back into the game as he removed Jaffer, Rahane (24) and Anup Revandkar (15) to reduce Mumbai to 108 for three in the 21st over.

Suryakumar Yadav hit a 68-ball 50 batting at No. 4 for Mumbai but with Shami Ahmed taking two for 41, Bengal were able to restrict their opponents to a score of below 250. Sourav Sarkar, Iresh Saxena and Arnab Nandi took one wicket each while Shukla dismissed No. 11 batsman Kshemal Waingankar (1) to finish with impressive figures of 9.2-1-38-4.

Chasing 249 to win, Bengal had a disastrous start as opener Subhomoy Das (0) was trapped lbw by Ajit Agarkar in the very first over. However, Sourav Ganguly and Shreevats Goswami put the Bengal chase back on course with a 68-run stand, which saw Ganguly score a patient 53-ball 38 before he was caught and bowled by Revandkar. Goswami (42) went next having raised the 100-run mark for Bengal and after putting on a 35-run stand with Shukla for the third wicket.

At this point, Shukla took control of Bengal’s fortunes. As Wriddhiman Saha (11) wasn’t able to repeat his semi-final heroics for Bengal, Shukla stitched together a 107-run stand with Anustup Majumdar (50* off 45) in just 13.5 overs to guide Bengal to a six-wicket win with 23 deliveries to spare. Shukla himself remained unbeaten with a 90-ball 106 that included 12 fours and two sixes.

The win is yet another accomplishment in India legend Sourav Ganguly’s glittering cricketing career; Bengal had finished as runners-up on three previous editions of the tournament without having won a single title.

Brief scores: Bengal 252/4 in 46.1 overs (Laxmi Ratan Shukla 106*, Anustup Majumdar 50*, Anup Revandkar 1/27) beat Mumbai 248/10 in 49.2 overs (Wasim Jaffer 61, Surayakumar Yadav 50, Laxmi Ratan Shukla 4/38) by six wickets

Man-of-the-match: Laxmi Ratan Shukla for his all-round performance. Shukla posted bowling figures of 9.2-1-38-4, and scored an unbeaten 106*, to guide Bengal to their first ever win in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.