All eyes on Pujara as Saurashtra meet UP

Lucknow, Jan. 14: All eyes will be on Cheteshwar Pujara, hero of India’s maiden Test series triumph in Australia, when an upbeat Saurashtra face Uttar Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy quarterfinal beginning here on Tuesday.

Pujara confirming his availability for the crucial tie is a big shot in the arm for Saurashtra, who were undefeated in Group A alongside Vidarbha with three wins and five draws. India’s batting mainstay paved the way for a historic Test series win in Australia with three centuries. Saurashtra go into the must-win game high on confidence, having taken the first innings lead against defending champions Vidarbha with lead pacer and captain Jaydev Unadkat taking six wickets for 56 runs.

Apart from Pujara, a lot will be expected from Sheldon Jackson who has been the team’s leading run-scorer this season with 613 runs at 47.15. Harvik Desai has also been amongst runs, scoring 538 at 35.86.

In the bowling department, Unadkat will expect left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja to deliver as he has been all through this season, collecting 38 wickets in eight games. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, have the advantage of playing at home.

They will be relying on Rinku Singh (803 runs), Priyam Garg (740) and Akshdeep Nath (709) to put the runs on the board and hope senior player Suresh Raina rises to the occasion. Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Dhapola and Ankit Rajpoot have been their go-to bowlers so far. Left-arm spinner has taken 50 wickets at 15.54.

At Bengaluru, A rampaging Rajasthan will keep in mind the unpredictability factor that has defined Karnataka’s season so far, when they meet in their quarterfinal.

Rajasthan have been on a roll in the group stage, winning seven games, including three with bonus points, and finishing at the top of the table with 51 points from nine outings.

The hosts won three games and lost two, besides three drawn games. They beat Maharashtra, Railways and Chhattisgarh, but lost to Saurashtra and Baroda, making them one of the most unpredictable teams this season. K. Siddharth and Dega Nischal, who have scored 651 and 613 runs, have been the only consistent batsmen for the home team in the group stage. Nischal and Siddharath have scored three and two centuries.