An unbeaten century by opening batsman K Ghosh and his 154-run unbroken stand with V Singh powered host Bengal to a seven-wicket win over Orissa in East Zone Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Under-19) league match at Kalyani today. In reply to Orissa`s healthy total of 259 for nine, Bengal romped home with 2.1 overs to spare. The winners secured four points for the victory, while losers drew blank.

Earlier electing to bat, Orissa rode on half-century each by Arya Debasis Bhatta (72 not out), Suryakant Pradhan (59) and  Ashok Barik (55) to set up a stiff target before the home side. But superb batting by Ghosh (123 not out) and V Singh (84 not out) enabled Bengal script the convincing win.

BRIEF SCORE:

ORISSA: 259/9 in 50 overs (Arya Debasis Bhatta 72, Suryakant Pradhan 59, Ashok Barik 55; T Banerjee 4/52, RP Singh 2/64) lost to BENGAL: 261/3 in 47.5 overs (K Ghosh 123 n.o, S Das 37, V Singh 84 n.o; Seshdeep Patra 1/35).