Kuldeep Sen, Easwaran guide Rest of India to big win
Sen takes five wickets to end Saurashtra’s second-innings resistance before opener Abhimanyu Easwaran hit an unbeaten fifty to seal Rest of India’s eight-wicket win in the Irani Cup with a day to spare.
From Mukesh Kumar ripping apart the Saurashtra line-up in the first session of Day One to Abhimanyu Easwaran's composed innings on Tuesday, Rest of India rode on impressive performances at various junctures to cruise to an eight-wicket win over Saurashtra to lift the Irani Cup.
The four action-packed days at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Ground in Rajkot also gave a glimpse of what India’s future stars are capable of.
On Day Four, Madhya Pradesh pacer Kuldeep Sen (5/94) and Bengal opener Easwaran (63-78b, 9x4), got an opportunity to impress the selectors and didn’t disappoint.
Sen, 25, who first came into limelight due to impressive spells for Rajasthan Royals in IPL, enhanced his reputation when he made sure Saurashtra didn’t build a sizeable lead. He dismissed Jaydev Unadkat (89-113b, 10x4, 2x6) and Parth Bhut (7-16b) in quick succession as Saurashtra could add just 12 runs to their overnight total before they were 380 all out.
Chasing a target of 105, Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat (2/37) dismissed Priyank Panchal (2-18b), the concussion substitute for Mayank Agarwal, and Yash Dhull (8-10b) early to reduce the innings to 18/2. But Easwaran who scored at a strike rate of 80.76 and shared an unbroken 81-run stand for the third wicket with KS Bharat (27-82b, 5x4) to guide Rest of India to victory.
Easwaran and Panchal have been in the India ‘A’ set-up in the last few years but there was talk that the selectors may overlook them for future tours when they included young openers Dhull and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the RoI squad. But with his knock, the 27-year-old showed he has what it takes to step it up when required.
Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar, who found out about his inclusion in the India squad for the South Africa ODIs only when he was added to the team’s WhatsApp group, was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his four-for in the first innings that had reduced Saurashtra to 34/6.
Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan emerged a strong contender for a spot in the Indian Test middle-order with his ninth first-class century in 14 matches since returning to play for Mumbai at the start of the 2019-20 season. His 138 from 178 balls was his third consecutive triple figure score in big ticket domestic tournaments. The other two came in the Ranji Trophy final for Mumbai against winners Madhya Pradesh and in West Zone’s Duleep Trophy final win.
RoI skipper Hanuma Vihari again showed when in crisis there is none better than him to thwart the opposition attack. Like he did with R Ashwin against Australia in the Sydney Test, he was the anchor at one end, sharing a 220-run stand with Sarfaraz that set the platform for RoI to build on.
For Saurashtra, the left-arm pacers Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya, who took five wickets in the first innings, bowled tirelessly and kept the RoI batters on their toes, though it was too much to ask of them after the Saurashtra batters let them down. Just like in the Duleep Trophy final, Unadkat showed he can bowl from both sides of the wicket.