Saurashtra beats Bengal to win second Ranji Trophy title, captain Unadkat picks six wickets

Saurashtra defeated Bengal by 9 wickets to clinch its second Ranji Trophy title on the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

Led by Jaydev Unadkat, Saurashtra diminished the house facet to a paltry 174 after successful the toss on Thursday earlier than posting a frightening 404 on the board. Fifties from opener Harvik Desai (50) and Saurashtra’s sturdy middle-order trio comprising Sheldon Jackson (59), Arpit Vasavada (81) and Chirag Jani (60) helped the customer achieve a 230-run first-innings lead.

While Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary led a response along with his half-century on Saturday, a flurry of wickets in Day 4’s morning session undid his grind. A mixture-up between Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed resulted within the latter’s dismissal and the tip of a 48-run partnership. Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat then secured his twenty second First-Class five-wicket haul (6/85) earlier than Bengal set a meagre 12-run goal. Opener Harvik Desai hit the successful runs as Saurashtra secured a second successive title after the Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph earlier this season.

Saurashtra’s maiden title win got here within the 2019-20 season when it beat the identical opponent within the last at house in Rajkot. Saurashtra is among the many most constant red-ball groups within the home circuit, having made its fifth last because the 2012-13 season.

Saurashtra has missed the companies of seniors Unadkat, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja frequently because of nationwide commitments. However, the staff has hinged on its collective effort with bat and ball to beat difficult leads to the league stage.

After remaining unbeaten within the first 5 rounds, Saurashtra suffered successive defeats to Andhra and Tamil Nadu in its group. Saurashtra, nonetheless, completed on high of Elite Group B with 26 factors and proceeded to beat Punjab by 71 runs in an exhilarating quarterfinal match in Rajkot.

Saurashtra then overcame an enormous problem from Karnataka within the semifinal in Bengaluru with huge tons from Arpit Vasavada (202) and Sheldon Jackson (160) securing a four-wicket win.

Vasavada, named Player of the Match within the 2019-20 last, completed second within the batting charts of the season with 907 runs from 15 innings, together with three centuries and two fifties. The left-handed batter

Left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja topped the bowling charts for Saurashtra with 43 wickets from 10 matches.

Meanwhile, Bengal’s anticipate the red-ball title continued because it completed runner-up for the thirteenth time in 15 finals. Bengal’s final title got here in 1989-90 season – it has completed second on 5 events since.