Lunch Vidarbha 67 for 3 (Unadkat 2-16) v Saurashtra
Saurashtra made significant inroads into Vidarbha’s top order with captain Jaydev Unadkat leading the way, as the defending champions went to lunch on the first day of the Ranji Trophy final at a shaky 67 for 3.
Unadkat had given Saurashtra the first breakthrough by removing R Sanjay, snaffled smartly by Arpit Vasavada at first slip when going forward for a low catch, but he struck the main blow by having Wasim Jaffer caught behind for 23 just ten minutes before the break. Jaffer’s feet were stuck in his crease and he followed a back-of-length delivery seaming away, sparking animated celebrations from Unadkat and the Saurashtra fielders.
Jaffer and Mohit Kale were rebuilding from 29 for 2, but Unadkat’s strike meant Vidarbha will have to rely on their lower middle order to justify captain Faiz Fazal’s decision to bat first.
At the break, Kale was on 17 with Ganesh Satish batting on 1.
Jaffer, who already has more than 1000 runs this season, survived a close call when on 3, in the 12th over. Chetan Sakariya had got the ball to tail in late and pinged Jaffer on the front pad in front of off stump. Jaffer had been looking to work the ball away across the line with bat close to pad, and the umpire indicated an inside edge when the Saurashtra fielders went up in unison. However, no sound could be heard on the replays.
The batsman seemed to have settled down after that, and even came down the track to lift left-arm spinner Dharmendrasinh Jadeja clean over long-off, but Unadkat ensured Saurashtra won the opening session’s battle.
After the Saurashtra captain had sent back Sanjay, Saurashtra got their second wicket thanks to a casual bit of running by the Vidarbha captain. Fazal was ambling for a second run after getting an inside edge to square leg, expecting the throw to go to the non-striker’s end, but Sakariya fired it in flat and hard to the keeper, who whipped off the bails with Fazal short of his crease.
Vidarbha are looking to become the sixth team in Ranji Trophy history to win back-to-back titles, while Saurashtra are searching for a maiden Ranji crown.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo