Rest of India push for victory over Saurashtra in Irani Cup

Left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar takes two early wickets after Sarfaraz Khan’s 138 helps Rest of India reach 374 all out. At stumps on Day 2, Saurashtra still trailed RoI by 227 runs.

Saurabh Kumar must have felt like a bystander on Saturday, Day One of the Irani Cup, as Rest of India (RoI) pacers steamrolled Saurashtra before Sarfaraz Khan and Hanuma Vihari helped them build a sizeable lead.

Rest of India players (BCCI Domestic)

On Sunday, the Uttar Pradesh left-arm spinner grabbed attention with his batting as well as his bowling to strengthen RoI grip on the match. His 55 (78b, 10x4) played a crucial role in RoI taking a 274-run lead after being 374 all out. He then took two scalps to pin Saurashtra further, reducing them to 49/2 at stumps on Day Two at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

Resuming the day on 205/2, RoI lost skipper Vihari (82—184b, 11x4, 1x6) and Sarfaraz (138—

178b, 20x4, 2x6) in the space of 12 balls to pacer Chirag Jani (2/58). Jani broke their 220-run (349 balls) stand when he had Vihari caught at first slip by Harvik Desai in the 14th over of the day. Till then, Vihari had restrained himself from chasing balls outside off-stump; this time though he couldn’t resist the temptation which cost his wicket.

Jani then trapped Sarfaraz leg-before with a ball that jagged in sharply, ending a brilliant innings and reducing RoI to 239/5. Sarfaraz, who looked in control till that point, went for a lavish drive over covers, missed the ball and paid the price for it.

KS Bharat (12, 44b) was then dismissed by left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya (5/93) to give his side a shot at wrapping up RoI's tail quickly, but any hopes of Saurashtra bouncing back soon perished when Kumar and Jayant Yadav (37—96b, 6x4) stitched a seventh-wicket stand of 71 from 123 balls and took the match away from the 2020 Ranji Trophy champions. Mukesh Kumar (11, 22b) and Umran Malik's (16*, 30b) raised a mini partnership of 27 for the ninth wicket as RoI posted 374 in their first innings, replying to Saurashtra’s 98 all out.

Saurashtra may be devoid of star power barring Cheteshwar Pujara in batting, but over the years their batters have earned a reputation for playing long innings in dire situations in domestic matches.

The way their openers Harvik Desai (20, 47b) and Snell Patel (16, 35b) started their second innings, it looked like they were ready to camp for a long time. With the pitch easing out, the RoI trio of Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Sen and Umran Malik weren't as effective as they were on a juicy pitch on Day One. But having done the hard work, the opening partners fell in consecutive overs of Saurabh Kumar, leaving Saurashtra with a mountain to climb.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 98 & 49/2 (Saurabh Kumar 2/0); Rest of India 374 (Hanuma Vihari 82, Sarfaraz Khan 138, Jaydev Unadkat 2/100, Chetan Sakariya 5/93, Chirag Jani 2/58).