Unadkat becomes first Saurashtra bowler to reach 300 Ranji Trophy wickets during final v Bengal

Unadkat, who made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2010, reached the landmark in his 77th Ranji Trophy match with the dismissal of Bengal’s Mukesh Kumar.

Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat completed 300 Ranji Trophy wickets during the final against Bengal on Thursday. | Photo Credit: PTI

Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat completed 300 Ranji Trophy wickets during the final against Bengal at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Thursday.

Unadkat, who made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2010, reached the landmark in his 77th match with the dismissal of Bengal’s Mukesh Kumar. The 31-year-old is the first Saurashtra bowler to achieve the mark in the premier red-ball tournament.

The left-arm seamer, released from the India Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad to lead Saurashtra in the final, has picked up 20 wickets from seven innings this season.

Unadkat also holds the record for most wickets by a pacer in a single Ranji Trophy season. While leading the team to the title in the 2019-20 season, Unadkat racked up 67 wickets from 10 matches.

Earlier this year, Unadkat recorded the first first-over hat-trick in a Ranji Trophy match against Delhi in Rajkot. He also recorded his best First-Class bowling figures (8/39) in the same innings.

Overall, Unadkat has amassed 376 wickets from 173 innings in First-Class cricket with a sub-23 average and 21 five-wicket hauls.