Saurashtra win maiden Ranji title
Rajkot, March 13
Skipper Jaydev Unadkat produced a lion-hearted spell when it mattered the most against Bengal, leading Saurashtra to their maiden Ranji Trophy triumph a year after stumbling at the last hurdle. The win was achieved on the basis of the first-innings lead.
Bengal had the upper hand going into Day 5 after Anustup Majumdar (63) and Arnab Nandi (40 not out) shared an unbeaten 91-run stand in the final session yesterday.
But Unadkat, who had single-handily taken Saurashtra into the final with a seven-wicket haul against Gujarat on the final day of their semifinal, rose to the occasion yet again to script a historic victory.
The left-arm pacer had the in-form Majumdar lbw and Akash Deep run out in the space of three balls to turn the game on its head. Unadkat ended as the season’s leading wicket-taker with 67 scalps at an average of 13.23, just short of an all-time record.
In one hour and 10 minutes of the morning session, Bengal scored 27 runs and lost four wickets to be all out for 381. It gave Saurashtra a 44-run first innings lead. In the second innings, all Saurashtra had to do was to bat time before both captains decided to call off the game and shake hands. They eventually did that at tea after Saurashtra sauntered to 105/4 in 34 overs.
With the win, Saurashtra ended their Ranji Trophy title drought while a fighting Bengal will have to wait longer for their first crown since the 1989-90 season. “It’s a great feeling, different world altogether,” said Saurashtra stalwart Cheteshwar Pujara. “Last season, we were very close to winning the title but we couldn’t. It’s a great, great feeling. The best thing about this team is that all the players have played together for a very long time,” the India player added.
For Saurashtra, the star performers were Sheldon Jackson (809 runs in 10 matches), Arpit Vasavada (763 in 10 matches) and their captain, of course.
Despite the loss, it was a memorable season for Bengal, who reached the title clash after 13 years at the back of stellar performances from the pace trio of Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Porel and veteran batsmen Manoj Tiwary and Majumdar, who scored over 700 runs each in the season.
Brief scores: Saurashtra: 425 & 105/3 (A Barot 39; S Ahmed 2/32); Bengal: 381 (S Chatterjee 81, W Saha 64, A Majumdar 63; D Jadeja 3/114, P Mankad 2/45). — PTI
