Ranji Trophy Semi-Final: Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh: Preview, Team News, Lineup, Road to Semi-Finals, TV Details

The Ranji Trophy enters the penultimate phase as four teams only remain to battle out for domestic glory this season.

Bengal are set to face off against Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium in Indore for one of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. The Bengal side have already flown off for Indore on Sunday and has undergone a training session on Monday.

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh Preview:

Bengal will be locking horns against a buoyant Madhya Pradesh side in the semi-finals as the match starts on February 8. Bengal, who have now qualified for the Ranji Trophy semi-finals thrice in a row, will be aiming to break their duck of winning the coveted trophy since their triumph in 1989-90 season.

Madhya Pradesh, on the other hand, will be aiming to defend their title as they beat Mumbai last season to win the Ranji Trophy for the first time. With home conditions by their side, the MP side will feel confident to get a positive result against their Bengal counterparts.

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh Team News:

Bengal have gone with a 19-man team for their trip to Madhya Pradesh. Karan Lal was added to the squad for the semi-final. Manoj Tiwary, who was handed over the captaincy in the middle of the season, is set to lead the team in Indore. Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sudip Gharami are set to start, while Shahbaz Ahmed and Mukesh Kumar are also set to feature.

MP have retained their 16 players from the quarterfinals as they aim to successfully defend their title. With the likes of Rajat Patidar and Himanshu Mantri on their side, MP have a formidable batting lineup and the duo is set to start against Bengal. Avesh Khan, who has picked up 36 wickets so far this season, is set to spearhead the Madhya Pradesh attack with the ball.

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh Probable Starting XI:

Bengal: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Kazi Saifi, Sudip Gharami, Anustup Majumdar, Manoj Tiwary, Shahbaz Ahmed, Abhishek Porel, Akash Ghatak, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Ishan Porel

Madhya Pradesh: Yash Dubey, Himanshu Mantri, Shubham Sharma, Rajat Patidar, Aditya Shrivastava, Anubhav Agarwal, Harsh Gawli, Saransh Jain, Avesh Khan, Kumar Kartikeya, Gaurav Yadav

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh Last Meet:

Both teams met in the semi-finals last season as well. Madhya Pradesh went on to crush Bengal by 174 runs in their title-winning campaign.

Bengal Road to Semi-Finals:

Uttar Pradesh - Won by 6 Wickets

Himachal Pradesh - Drawn, 1st innings lead

Nagaland - Won by an innings and 161 runs

Uttarakhand - Drawn, 1st innings lead

Baroda - Won by 7 wickets

Haryana - Won by an innings and 50 runs

Odisha - Lost by 7 wickets

Jharkhand (QF) - Won by 9 wickets

Madhya Pradesh Road to Semi-Finals:

Jammu and Kashmir - Won by and innings and 17 runs

Chandigarh - Won by an innings and 125 runs

Railways - Won by 2 wickets

Vidarbha - Won by 205 runs

Gujarat - Won by 260 runs

Punjab - Lost by an innings and 122 runs

Tripura - Drawn, Conceded 1st innings lead

Andhra Pradesh (QF) - Won by 5 wickets

Bengal vs Madhya Pradesh TV and Streaming Details:

The match will be broadcast live on Star Sports network from February 8. The match can also be live-streamed through Disney + Hotstar App and Website.