Murshidabad Kings rode on Saksham Chaudhary’s stunning 47-ball 98 to beat Novus Royals Purulia by four wickets in a nail-biting last-over finish and stay alive in the Bengal T20 League at the Eden Gardens here on Tuesday.

In a rain-curtailed affair, Purulia relied on Priyam Sarkar’s century (100, 56b, 10×4, 6×6) to score 196 for three in the reduced quota of 18 overs. Murshidabad achieved the revised target of 200 to post its third win.

Sarkar showed his fearless approach and impressive range. He took advantage of two reprieves to play proper cricketing shots in the ‘V’ and square of the wicket on both sides to gather runs quickly.

Sarkar added 83 runs with attacking left-hander Yuvraj Keswani (56, 27b, 3×4, 5×6) in Purulia’s rain-interrupted innings.

Kings got off to a good start due to captain Abhishek Raman’s rapid-fire knock (43, 20b, 5×4, 3×6) before slipping to 56 for three in six overs.

Saksham displayed his natural stroke-play as he pulled and drove heavily on the onside to bring Kings back into contention. The southpaw, who hit six fours and 10 sixes, missed a century as he departed when Kings needed just 17 to win. He was delighted to see his colleagues achieve the target.

The scores: Men: Novus Royals Purulia 196/3 in 18 overs (Priyam Sarkar 100, Yuvraj Keswani 56) lost to Murshidabad Kings 200/6 in 17.4 overs (Abhishek Raman 43, Saksham Chaudhary 98, Ravi Kumar 3/44) (Revised target: 200 in 18 overs, DLS method).

On Monday: Adamas Howrah Warriors 132 in 20 overs (Shashank Singh 60, Mukesh Kumar 3/22, Suraj Jaiswal 4/18, Akhil 2/21) lost to Sobisco Smashers Malda 136/2 in 13.4 overs (Akhil 41, Abhimanyu Easwaran 58 n.o.).

Women: Sobisco Smashers Malda 127/7 in 20 overs (Mamta Kisku 60, Bidisha Dey 2/19, Rupal Tiwari 3/17) lost to Shrachi Rarh Tigers 128/9 in 19.1 overs (Bristi Maji 38, Piyali Ghosh 28, Rupal Tiwari 29, Saika Ishaque 2/14, Snigdha Bag 2/18); Adamas Howrah Warriors 121/5 in 16 overs (Ankita Chakraborty 26, Tithi Das 68 n.o.) bt Kolkata Royal Tigers 98/9 in 16 overs (Sreyoshi Aich 3/19, Chandrima Ghoshal 3/10).