Saurashtra thrash Bengal to win second Ranji Trophy title

Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat returned a match haul of nine wickets, including 6 for 85 in the second innings, as Saurashtra thrashed Bengal by nine wickets in the final to win their second Ranji Trophy title, in Kolkata, on Sunday.

Having conceded a big first innings lead of 230 runs, Bengal, overnight 169/4 in their second essay, folded for 241, handing the visitors a mere 12 runs target to emerge champions.

• Scorecard

Saurashtra lost opening batter Jay Gohil (0) to Akash Deep but eventually went past the target, getting to 14 for 1 in 2.4 overs and wrapping up the match with a day and two full sessions to spare.

Saurashtra's earlier triumph was in the 2019-20 season, when they defeated Bengal on the basis of the first innings lead.

In the last 10 seasons, they made the final on five occasions, underlining their consistency.

A Ranji Trophy title eluded Bengal yet again. They last won it in 1998-90 when they defeated a star-studded Delhi at the same Eden Gardens. Their first title came in 1938-39, during the pre-independence era.

Earlier, in the morning session, Unadkat showed the way after a freak run-out of Bengal batter Shahbaz Ahmed (27). The veteran Saurashtra skipper added four wickets to his overnight tally of 2.

The old Bengal warhorse duo of skipper Manoj Tiwary (68) and Anustup Majumdar (61) slammed valiant half-centuries but the home side were let down by their top-order batters, including the promising Abhimanyu Easwaran who scored 0 and 16 in the two innings.

In-form No. 3 batter Sudip Gharami, fresh from a 112 and 41 in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh and has 800-plus runs this season, also came a cropper, scoring 0 and 14 in the two innings.

The decision to hand a debut to Sumanta Gupta in a Ranji final also will rankle Bengal as he did not show the technique of a top-order batter and perished to an outgoing delivery.

State sports minister-cum-cricketer Tiwary delayed his retirement to win a Ranji title in his fourth final, and it remains to be seen whether he continue to play in the upcoming season.

Earlier, the overnight duo of Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed committed hara-kiri while going for a third run. Ahmed had to sacrifice his wicket and gave Saurashtra their first breakthrough of the day.

It also unsettled Tiwary as he followed suit, out for 68 after chasing a wide delivery from Unadkat.

In no time, Bengal were reduced to 205 for 9, still trailing by 25 runs.

But, Bengal's last pair of Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel avoided the ignominy of an innings defeat, scoring 36 runs in 37 balls to delay the inevitable.

Unadkat, who was released from the Indian Test side to play the Ranji final, had bagged 3 for 44 in Bengal’s first innings. He was ably supported by fellow-left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya (3/33) after they opted to bowl on a lively pitch.

Having prepared a green-top, Bengal were caught in their own web as their top-order batters showed complete lack of application on the opening day.