Ranji Trophy final: Some brilliant fast bowling from Jayden Unadkat, Chetan Sakaria and Chirag Jani put Saurashtra in the driving seat of the final against Bengal, who bundled out the opposition batsmen for just 174 in their first innings on Thursday. (16 February). On the first day of the final, playing on a fast pitch at Eden Gardens, Saurashtra’s pace-battery, led by Unadkat, made the most of the conditions and took eight wickets between them. The Saurashtra skipper and Chetan Sakaria took three wickets each, while Chirag dismissed two Bengal batsmen. In reply, Saurashtra ended the day at 81/2, with Harvik Desai 38* and nightwatchman Chetan Sakaria 2* at the crease.
Bengal’s batting collapse began early when Saurashtra captain Unadkat, who had been released from India’s Test team to compete in the final, hit an inswinger in the first over that edged Abhimanyu Easwaran on the bat-pad at short leg. Got out by giving a catch. In the next over, Sumant Gupta was dismissed by Sakariya on a bouncing ball at the slip cordon.
Bengal were 2 for 3 in the first 10 balls of the encounter when No. 3 Sudeep Kumar Gharami dropped a brilliant ball from Sakariya that shattered his stumps. Unadkat then changed his approach around the wicket and was rewarded with the wicket of Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary as he pointed down the gully for 7.
Jani soon had Anustup Majumdar caught behind for 16, and all-rounder Akash Ghatak found Sakaria’s short ball too hot to handle. Bengal and their huge home fans were disappointed after being reduced to 65 for 6. However, all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed and wicketkeeper-batsman Abhishek Porel staged a comeback that began before noon and lasted almost till tea.
Their 101-run stand for the seventh wicket started tentatively, but both batsmen found it easy to score as the pitch became easier to bat on. They were able to make rapid progress after lunch, finding boundaries on both sides of the wicket. Shahbaz scored 69 runs before adding the ball to Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and was bat-pad out at short leg. Saurashtra dispatched the lower order packing in less than 15 minutes after tea.
Akash Deep was the second victim of Jadeja. Porel was dismissed for 50 off Jani’s bowling and Unadkat bowled Mukesh Kumar. The response from Saurashtra began with an aggressive stand from opener Harvik Desai (38*). He scored 29 off 28 balls despite his opening partner Jay Gohil being dismissed cheaply by Akash. Third number Vishwaraj Jadeja also played well and dismissed Mukesh after scoring 25 runs with the help of five fours.
Thanks to the quick runs of the opening pair, Saurashtra reached 73 for 2 wickets. Sakariya, one of Saurashtra’s bowlers, took 3 for 33 in the morning, lasting nine balls with Desai, and when bad light interrupted play, the visitors were much happier than their rivals, Bengal’s first Only 93 runs short of the match-innings total. (With ANI inputs)
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Ranji Trophy final: Some brilliant fast bowling from Jayden Unadkat, Chetan Sakaria and Chirag Jani put Saurashtra in the driving seat of the final against Bengal, who bundled out the opposition batsmen for just 174 in their first innings on Thursday. (16 February). On the first day of the final, playing on a fast pitch
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