On the eve of the Ranji Trophy last, Bengal captain Manoj Tiwary advised this newspaper that he needed a spicy pitch with tempo and bounce as Saurashtra’s batsmen have been good on “low and slow” surfaces. Tiwary received precisely what he needed however the floor proved to be a double-edged sword and the guests made higher use of the circumstances. He labored out a tentative line that teased the off-stump of the batsmen as his bowlers performed pictures on the opening day on the Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Jaydev Unadkat gained the toss and opted to bowl on a green-top. The Saurashtra skipper (3/44) and Chetan Sakaria (3/33) did the speaking with the brand new ball and restricted the hosts to 17/4 inside 5 overs.
Unadkat set the tone within the very first over. With three slips, a gully and brief leg, India A daily Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) was undone by an inswinger as Jai Gohil took the catch shut.
This is the stump of the 1️⃣ day @mastercardindia #Ranji Trophy #Last,
Saurashtra reached 81/2 after stopping Bengal for 174 within the first innings. #BENvSAU
Watch how the motion unfolded on Opening Day 🎥 🔽 https://t.co/kvrtC1jsBZ pic.twitter.com/VV2FxSzW3c
– BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 16, 2023
In the following over, Sakariya bowled a jaffa that hit Sumant Gupta (1) for a boundary and edged Sheldon Jackson to first slip. A couple of balls later, Sakariya bowled a pointy inswinger, on which Sudeep Gharami (0) did not hit a shot. Off stump was despatched cartwheeling.
Tiwari (7) seemed shaky throughout his keep. Unadkat crossed his outdoors edge twice over the wicket after which switched to spherical, and Tiwary pushed it away from the physique, taking the skin edge to Vishvaraj Jadeja within the gully.
The Bengal workforce had fallen into its personal entice. The high order lacked software in opposition to the shifting ball. All eyes are actually on the skilled Anustup Majumdar, Bengal’s highest run-scorer this season, to rescue the innings. But he misplaced his composure and was undone by an additional bounce extracted by Saurashtra third seamer Chiraj Jani as Bengal misplaced half the workforce earlier than the primary drinks break.
some resistance
Shahbaz Ahmed (69) shared a 33-run partnership with pacer all-rounder Akash Ghatak (17), who had changed Pradipta Pramanik within the enjoying XI. Ghatak Sakaria was performed by a pointy bouncer because the batsman performed a weak pull shot, and Unadkat took a easy catch at mid-wicket.
At 65/6, Shahbaz and Abhishek Porel (50) added 101 runs for the seventh wicket in near 4 hours earlier than Bengal have been barreling down.
Unadkat included Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (2/19) within the assault and the left-arm spinner ended Shahbaz’s resistance, additionally dismissing Akash Deep in his subsequent over. Chirag Jani then dismissed Porel.
Unadkat then introduced himself into the assault and dismissed Mukesh Kumar with a easy catch and bowled out to finish 300 Ranji Trophy wickets.
In reply, the Saurashtra openers seemed troubled by the brief and broad deliveries from the Bengal pacers. Akash Deep, Bengal’s main wicket-taker this season, began with a no-ball and was dropped from the assault after two overs. Mukesh Kumar, identified for his line and size, strolling and was hit for a six and a 4 by Harvik Desai.
Akash Deep, nonetheless, returned to wash bowl Gohil (6).
Saurashtra No.3 Vishvaraj Singh Jadeja (25) hit three fours in Porel’s first over. However, within the dying minutes of the primary day, Mukesh returned to his off stump line and dismissed Jadeja. However, he has already introduced him again into the competition by hitting 12 fours and a six in 17 overs.
Achievement:
Saurashtra 1st innings: Sumant Gupta with Jackson Bo Sakaria 1, Abhimanyu Easwaran, with Jai Gohil Bo Unadkat, Sudeep Kumar Gharami
b Sakaria 0, Anustup Majumdar c Desai b Jani 16, Manoj Tiwary (c) c VM Jadeja b Unadkat 7, Akash Ghatak c Unadkat b Sakaria 17, Shahbaz Ahmed c VM Jadeja b DA Jadeja 69, Abhishek Porel c Mankad b Jani 50, Akash Deep c Unadkat b DA Jadeja 4, Mukesh Kumar c & b Unadkat 1, Ishan Porel not out 0; Extras: 9 (lb 7, NB 2); Total: All out for 174 runs in 54.1 overs
FOW: 1-1(Eshwaran, 0.5 ov),2-1(Gupta, 1.2 ov),3-2(Gharami, 1.4 ov),4-17(Tiwari, 4.5 ov),5-34(Anustup, 12.6 ov),6-65(Ghatak Fall of wickets: 21.4 ov), 7-166(Shahbaz, 50.6 ov), 8-172(Akash Deep, 52.2 ov), 9-174(Abhishek Porel, 53.5 ov), 10-174(Mukesh, 54.1 ov) )
Bowling: Jaydev Unadkat 13.1-3-44-3, Chetan Sakaria 13-4-33-3, Chirag Jani 11-2-33-2, Prerak Mankad 11-4-38-0, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 6-1-19-2
Saurashtra first innings: Harvik Desai batting 38, Jay Gohil b Akash Deep 6, Vishvaraj Jadeja c Abishek Porel b Mukesh Kumar 25, Chetan Sakariya batting 2; Extras: 10 (b 5, lb 1, nb 4)
Total: 81/2 in 17 overs
FOW: 1-38 (Gohil, 6.1 ov), 2-73 (Vishvaraj, 15.2 ov)
Bowling: Mukesh Kumar 6-1-23-1, Akash Deep 8-1-28-1, Akash Ghatak 1-0-10-0, Ishan Porel 1-0-12-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-0-2-0
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
