Kolkata, Dec 23 (PTI) Himachal players Prashant Chopra (109) and Ankit Kalsi (82) batted with gumption on the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match to deny hosts Bengal victory at the Eden Gardens on Friday.

The visitors, who faced an uphill task to save the match on day four, lost just three wickets as the game ended in a draw with Himachal scoring 348/4, denying the hosts a golden opportunity to take full points.

Chasing a target of 472, Himachal, who were 79/1 overnight with Chopra and Kalsi unbeaten on 44 and 17 respectively, started the tough journey to save the game with a positive mind-set.

Chopra, especially, was very cautious with his strokes, building his innings brick by brick as he inched closer to the century mark. Kalsi was the first to be dismissed but before that the partnership had virtually ensured the match could only progress in one direction — a draw.

From 191/2, Chopra continued to consolidate the innings and when he was dismissed by Akash Deep after he had crossed the century mark, Himachal could only lose if they committed harakiri.

Then, Amit Kumar (38 retired hurt), Akash Vasisht (28 not out) and skipper Rishi Dhawan (31) played with caution to ensure a draw.

Bengal’s Anustup Majumdar, centurion in the first innings, was adjudged ‘Player of the Match’.

Brief Scores: At Kolkata: Bengal 310 and 291 for 5 decl drew with Himachal Pradesh 130 and 348 for 4 in 93 overs (Prashant Chopra 109, Ankit Kalsi 82).

At Dehradun: Odisha 213 and 165 in 57.5 overs (Anurag Sarangi 93; Abhay Negi 5/33) lost to Uttarakhand 477 by an innings and 99 runs.

At Vadodara: Baroda 615 drew with Haryana 278 and (f/o) 404 for 9 in 137.3 overs (Yuvraj Singh 94, Ankit Kumar 55, Shivam Chauhan 60, Jayant Yadav 61, Anshul Kamboj 37 not out; Jyotsnil Singh 3/50).

Source: PTI News