Bengal head for Lucknow to play the Ranji Trophy final against Uttar Pradesh after getting the better of Baroda in a drawn semi-final, in Kolkata on Tuesday, by virtue of the first innings lead.
Baroda denied Bengal an outright victory, thanks to a dogged 135 by Connor Williams that helped them finish the second innings on 252 for eight, when bad light stopped play four overs before the stipulated 90 overs.
This is the eleventh time that Bengal have reached the final, the last being in 93-94, when they lost to Mumbai.
Bengal have won the Ranji Trophy twice, once in 1938-39 and then again in 1989-90, when Sambaran Banerjee's side defeated Delhi.
It is just coincidence that as Bengal stands at the doorstep of history, the team is led by another wicket-keeper batsmen, Deep Dasgupta.
With Bengal already having sealed a berth in the final, play on the fifth day was of academic interest.
The final will be played at the K D Singh Babu stadium in Lucknow from January 30 to February 3.
Uttar Pradesh are making their second appearance in the final.
Scorecard
Baroda (1st innings): 241
Bengal (1st innings): 619
Baroda (2nd innings): (overnight 101/2)
P Shah b R Bose 13
R Solanki b L R Shukla 10
C Williams not out 135
J Martin c A Jhunjhunwala b R Bose 34
Y K Pathan c A Jhunjhunwala b S S Singh 5
A Bhoite c LR Shukla b S S Singh 14
R Pawar c K H Mondal b S S Singh 6
K Powar c A Jhunjhunwala b S S Singh 6
R Patel c & b M Tiwari 2
S Joshi not out 0
Extras: (b-17, lb-2, nb-8) 27
Total: (For 8 wickets, 130 overs) 252
Fall of wickets: 1-19, 2-30, 3-114, 4-123, 5-155, 6-172, 7-200, 8-205.
Bowling: S S Paul 22-10-30-0, R Bose 21-4-54-2, L R Shukla 20-6-36-1, S Lahiri 21-4-32-0, S S Singh 36-11-66-4, M Tiwari 8-0-14-1, S Das 1-0-1-0, K H Mondal 1-1-0-0.
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