Saurashtra look poised to lift their second Ranji trophy after skipper Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya took two wickets each as hosts Bengal struggled with 169 for four in their second innings on day three of the final at Eden Gardens on Saturday . While Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary remained unbeaten on 57, the hosts are still 61 runs short of Saurashtra’s first-innings tally of 404, and with both Saurashtra left-arm bowlers spewing fire, Unadkat’s side would take the match on could close on Sunday.
Bengal’s pace-heavy attack looked ineffectual in the morning as Saurashtra, picking up from where they had started on Friday night – 317/5 – added 87 extra runs to take their score above 400.
Though nighttime hitters Arpit Vasavada (81) and Chirag Jani (60) went down quickly, tail strikers Prerak Mankad (33) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (29) gave Saurashtra the winning advantage. To add to Bengal’s woes, they gave away 35 extras.
Bengal came to bat in the second innings and got off to a gripping start with the pace duo of Sakariya (2/50) and Unadkat (2/47) rattling the top order to take them down to 47/3 in the session after the lunch. .
Still trailing by 183 runs, innings defeat loomed as the veteran duo of Anustup Majumdar (61) and Tiwary came together and gave the 1,000 or so fans some hope with their 99-run partnership.
In the end, Shahbaz Ahmed (13 batter) joined Tiwary on the crease.
Bengal can only hope for a magical turnaround in the quest for their first Ranji Trophy title in 32 years.
It’s up to Tiwary and Shahbaz, the last recognized batting pair for Bengal, to make an unlikely turnaround.
Earlier pace bowler Mukesh Kumar emerged as the most successful Bangladeshi bowler on Saturday, finishing with figures of 4/111 and getting rid of both well-placed overnight batsmen Vasavada and Jani.
After taking just three wickets on Friday, the acclaimed Bangladeshi strike took down Saurashtra’s last five wickets in two hours and six minutes in the first session on Saturday. But it seemed too little, too late, as the guest bowlers had allowed Saurashtra to take their score above 400.
Vasavada failed to increase his overnight total of 81 and picked up a road delivery. Jani was ejected when Mukesh got the ball swung away after the pitch. The ball made light contact with Jani’s bat and sailed towards the wicket-keeper.
Akash Deep hit the deck hard to bounce out of Prerak Mankad with a ball that sliced in sharply and clipped the batter’s gloves.
He got his third wicket and dismissed Unadkat (4) cheaply. But from 369/9 Saurashtra raced to 404 with their last pair Parth Bhut (14 not out) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (29) frustrating the Bangladeshi bowlers.
Pushed into the opener role, Bangladeshi debutant Sumanta Gupta showed he still has a lot of work to do as he poked at a Sakariya delivery only to be caught in the slip cordon.
Bengal’s biggest disappointment was India. A regular Abhimanyu Easwaran (12) whose horror show continued with the bat, done by a long labor swinging away.
Bangladeshi crisis man Anustup Majumdar seemed to be in control and took the pressure. But Unadkat sacked the veteran cricketer when he was chasing a runaway delivery only to be caught near a gully.
Tiwary and Shahbaz then survived some frightening moments to keep the faint hope alive.
Saurashtra had won their first Ranji Trophy title three years ago in Rajkot by defeating Bengal.
Short Scores: Bengal 174 and 169/4; 52.5 overs (Anustup Majumdar 61, Manoj Tiwary 57 at bat). Saurashtra 404; 110 overs (Arpit Vasavada 81, Chirag Jani 60, Sheldon Jackson 59, Harvik Desai 50; Mukesh Kumar 4/111, Akash Deep 3/111, Ishan Porel 3/86). Bangladesh trailing by 61 runs.
Featured video of the day
Young girls eating cricket, sleeping and dreaming
Topics mentioned in this article