Saurashtra thrashed Bengal by nine wickets at the Eden Gardens on Sunday to lift their second Ranji Trophy in three seasons. Leading from the front, skipper and left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat took 6/85 and effected the run out of Shahbaz Ahmed that triggered a batting collapse as Bengal lost their last six wickets for 48 runs.
Four of the six wickets were bagged by Unadkat, who dismissed counterpart Manoj Tiwary before cleaning up the lower order with precision. Saurashtra took 2.4 overs to chase down a 12-run target.
Hosts Bengal were always playing catch up after being reduced to 65/6 on the first day at the Eden Gardens. Giving hope against hope was the stand between Tiwary and Ahmed as Bengal started the day looking to wipe out the 61-run deficit. In the sixth over of the day though Tiwary had a brain fade, calling for a risky single and aborting it midway. If that wasn’t enough, Tiwary’s dismissal chasing a wide delivery from Unadkat to gully knocked the wind out of Bengal’s sails. Abhishek Porel fell four balls later and the writing was on the wall. Bengal would have suffered the ignominy of an innings defeat but for a 22-run cameo from No 10 Ishan Porel.
Saurashtra’s first title in 2019-20 also came after beating Bengal, who have now lost five finals since their 1989-90 victory.
{{/usCountry}}Saurashtra’s first title in 2019-20 also came after beating Bengal, who have now lost five finals since their 1989-90 victory.
{{/usCountry}}The toss may have gone their way on a green top pitch but Saurashtra were easily the calmer, braver and more resilient of the finalists. In fact, that has been their signature throughout the season. Without their stalwarts—Cheteshwar Pujara, Unadkat and Ravindra Jadeja—for bulk of the games, time and again Saurashtra bounced back from dire situations. Like in the quarter-finals, where they conceded a 131-run first-innings lead but bowled out Punjab for 180 in the second innings. In the semi-finals, Saurashtra were down and out once Karnataka recovered from 112/5 to post 407 in the first innings but bounced back to take the first innings lead before dismissing Karnataka for 234.
Unadkat wasn’t initially available for the final after being named in the India squad against Australia. But India wrapped up the first Test within three days, allowing him to join the squad and make an impact right away, removing Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) and Tiwary (7) early in the first innings.
“We were better in a lot of areas,” Unadkat said after the game. “We bowled in the right areas to start with, better than their bowlers a lot of times. Batters showed more composure and resilience. We won a lot more sessions than them and that's why we came out on top.”
Twice in a row now, Saurashtra have scored in excess of 400 in the first innings. It’s a spectacular achievement considering both games were played away, and the final was on one of the most challenging pitches in the country. “It’s a great statement,” said Unadkat. “With all the talk about their (Bengal’s) bowling not giving more than 360 in the tournament, it shows that when we were able to achieve that in a game like final, the batting side is doing a lot of things right.”
No batter has been more instrumental in this success than Arpit Vasavada, who finished second highest scorer of this Ranji season with 907 runs. “He scored about 900 runs but to me the value of those runs must be about 1,400-1,500 runs in the season,” said Unadkat. “Because he scored them at crucial junctures. Not just him, Sheldon (Jackson) and Chirag Jani form the backbone of the team. They stood up whenever required.”
Bengal’s batting still heavily relies on Anustup Majumdar and Tiwary and that was evident from the way Unadkat celebrated Majumdar’s dismissal in the second innings. “As long as I’m able to bowl those penetrative spells, I will be happy. I would say even if I had taken the one wicket of Anustup yesterday, and then if the other wickets were taken by everyone else, then also I would have been happy,” said Unadkat, who has been part of four finals now.
“The middle order, the way they have stood up, has been incredible,” the domestic stalwart said at the post-match presentation. “The way Chetan (Sakariya) survived that first hour yesterday was amazing to see. In the last four-five years, we have been able to set the tone, for guys to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves and the team. This is a team achievement in the truest sense. Glad to win this for everyone who has worked hard behind the scenes—the association, selectors, coaches and our families.”
From Rajasthan (winners of 2011 and 2012) to Karnataka (2014 and 15), Vidarbha (2018 and 2019) and now Saurashtra, quite a few teams have dominated in clusters in recent times. It is for Saurashtra to build on this high. Unadkat acknowledged that. “Three trophies in three years (they won the Vijay Hazare Trophy as well) proves that we have been doing a lot of things right. It’s not just about winning trophies, but creating a legacy for our team which will leave a bigger impact on cricket in the region.
“Our goal will be to carry forward this legacy for at least 3-4 years till the core of our team is intact. In this zone now, we want to establish the kind of supremacy in the domestic circuit where any team will think twice and make double the effort when they play us.”