Unadkat fires Saurashtra to maiden Ranji triumph

Rajkot, March 13: Skipper Jaydev Unadkat on Friday 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 here. Bengal had the upper hand going into day five after Anustup Majumdar (63) and Arnab Nandi (40 not out) shared an unbeaten 91-run stand in the final session Thursday.

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 a space of three balls to turn

the game on its head. Unadkat ended as the season’s leading wicket-taker with 67 scalps at a staggering average of 13.23, one short of an all-time record.

One hour and 10 minutes of play in the decisive morning session yielded 27 runs

and four wickets with Bengal all out for 381, giving Saurashtra a 44-run first innings lead.

At the start of the day, Bengal needed 72 runs for the first-innings lead with four wickets in hands.

In the second innings, all

Saurashtra (1st Innings): 425. Bengal (1st Innings): Sudip Kumar Gharami c Vishvarajsinh Jadeja b DA Jadeja 26, AR Easwaran lbw Prerak Mankad 9, Sudip Chatterjee c Vishvarajsinh Jadeja b DA Jadeja 81,Manoj Tiwary lbw Chirag Jani 35, Wriddhiman Saha b Prerak Mankad 64, Anustup Majumdar lbw J Unadkat 63, Shahbaz b Chetan Sakariya 16, Arnab Nandi (not out) 40, Akash Deep run out (J Unadkat) 0, Mukesh Kumar c Vishvarajsinh Jadeja b DA Jadeja 5, Ishan Porel lbw b J Unadkat 1. Extras (b 20, lb 14, nb 1, w 1, pen 5) 41. Total (in 161 overs) 381.

FoW: 1-35, 2-35, 3-124, 4-225,

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 time after Saurashtra sauntered 105 for four in 34 overs.

With the win, Saurashtra 5-241, 6263, 7-361, 8-361, 9-370. Bowling: Jaydev Unadkat 37-10-96-2, Chetan Sakariya 28-10-55-1, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 52-14-114-3, Prerak Mankad 21-7-45-2, Chirag Jani 238-32-1.

Saurashtra (2nd Innings): Harvik Desai c sub (A Raman) b Shahbaz Ahmed 21, Avi Barot c sub (Chakraborty) b Chatterjee 39, Vishvarajsinh Jadeja c Saha b Akash Deep 17, Arpit Vasavada c sub (A Raman) b Shahbaz Ahmed 3, Sheldon Jackson (not out) 12. Extras (b 8, lb 4, nb 1) 13. Total (for four wickets in 34 overs) 105. FoW: 1-38, 2-65, 3-82, 4-105. Bowling: Ishan Porel 3-1-15-0, Mukesh Kumar 12-2-33-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 14-532-2, Akash Deep 4-0-13-1, Sudip Chatterjee 1-1-0-1.

ended their Ranji Trophy title drought while a fighting Bengal will have to wait longer for their first crown since the 1989-90 season.

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, Mukesh, Porel, Tiwary.

For Saurashtra, the star performers were Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, and of course, their captain.

— PTI