Ranji Trophy: Pujara, Jaffer in focus as Vidarbha sets up to defend title

Wasim Jaffer is 40, but his game still sparkles. At the nets, you can tell from a distance that it’s him. That wristy flick and carefree gait proclaim that cricket still scores on class. 

On Saturday at the VCA ground here, there came a moment when India batsman Cheteshwar Pujara — the mainstay of Saurashtra — went up to Jaffer for a chat. The shutterbugs captured the golden frame and as cricket writers, we started counting the number of runs the photograph would reflect.

It’s 33,841 first-class runs and counting.

In a nutshell, Pujara and Jaffer’s presence tells you the importance of this Ranji Trophy final starting on Sunday. 

Last season, it was Vidarbha that won its maiden title; this time, Saurashtra is on the hunt for it. 

Both the teams have come up through the ranks to prove that Indian domestic cricket does not depend on the big states — such as Mumbai, Delhi or Karnataka — any longer to create champions.

Finishing the semifinal in two days against Kerala on a rough Wayanad pitch gifted Vidarbha three extra days to freshen up before the crucial fixture. 

“The preparation has been good. After getting runs [75] in the last game, I am confident. I am watching the ball well. A big hundred here and you never know,” said Fazal.

Read: 'I'm a big fan of Pujara'

Vidarbha is keen to lay its hands on the trophy again. “If you taste success once, your hunger increases. We are really inspired. I don’t know if we have an edge as Saurashtra hasn’t won before. But they have been playing great cricket for many years. They have been there in this situation before — in finals and knockouts. I am sure they are also equally inspired,” he spoke highly of the opponent.

Umesh Yadav picked up 12 wickets in Vidarbha's crushing semifinal win over Kerala.   -  VIVEK BENDRE

Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat is still high on the final berth. “No one would have thought of a Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Vidarbha 10 years back. That’s how cricket has spread in India. It’s not about playing home or away but belief. It’s really great at the moment,” he said.

“This is not the first time we are playing against a very good batsman or a very good player. This is a mature team, and this shows how professional we are,” he clarified.

Pitch and combination

Vidarbha is likely to make a change to its combination. Off-break bowler Akshay Wakhare is likely to sneak in. “We had only one spinner in the last game [Aditya Sarwate]. Since he also bats well, we played him. [But] we didn’t need any spinner on that wicket. There could be some changes [for tomorrow],” Fazal said.

Squads

Vidarbha: Faiz Fazal (c), Ganesh Satish, Rajneesh Gurbani, Wasim Jaffer, Akshay Karnewar, Lalit M Yadav, Sanjay Ramaswamy, Aditya Sarwate, Atharwa Taide, Aditya Thakare, Akshay Wadkar, Shrikant Wagh, Akshay Wakhare, Apoorv Wankhade, Siddhesh Wath, Darshan Nalkande, Umesh Yadav

Saurashtra: Jaydev Unadkat (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Arpit Vasavada, Agnivesh Ayachi, Prerak Mankad, Avi Barot , Samarth Vyas, Kishan Parmar, Jay Chauhan, Sheldon Jackson, Chirag Jani, Kamlesh Makvana, Shaurya Sanandia, Hardik Rathod, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Yuvraj Chudasama, Snell Patel, Harvik Desai