Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s coverage of the Ranji Trophy 2022/23 final played between Bengal and Saurashtra at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
- Player of the Series - Arpit Vasavada (907 runs, 10 matches)
- Player of the Match - Jaydev Unadkat (nine wickets)
Arpit Vasavada | Player of the Tournament: There is no secret. When the team needed me, I performed and I feel lucky for that. My strength is my defensive technique and I focus on that and don’t go for too many shots. Whenever needed, everyone did well and that is why we won. We were confident, last time I also performed well and this time I perfomed very well in the final, so I am very happy that whenever the team needed me, I stood tall.
Manoj Tiwary: It has been a great season for us, before saying anything, want to congratulate Saurashtra and Unadkat and winning the trophy. Want to congratulate BCCI as well for organising the event so well. It all started from the Day 1, The moisture on the wicket was difficult for our batters to show our skill set. It was not up to the mark although we tried our level best. The toss became a bit of a factor but after that, we were never in the game. On the 3 Day, after two sessions we were in the game. They bowled really well and batted really well. Their combination is such that when you think of getting quick 9 or 10 batters out but when we go back and see the score of such players, they score a lot of runs. Lot of things have proved costly. We wanted to build a partnership but unfortunately, it was my mistake. I didn’t see the ball and when I saw the ball it was too late. I said sorry to him and sorry to Bengal It was heartening to see our fast bowlers bowl and the way our batters batted, the coaching staff as well. It was one of those games where we didn’t use our skill-set as required. There are always positives and we will work on those. In the battle between Tigers and Lions, the Lions have won this time. But next time, we wlll be much better prepared.
A fitting end to Saurashtra’s red-ball season as the Jaydev Unadkat-led dominated the Ranji Trophy throughout the season.
Harvik Desai hits the winning run as Saurashtra beats Bengal to lift the Ranji Trophy 2022/23 title in a dominating fashion.
Akash Deep gets a wicket off his first ball. Jay Gohil departs without scoring. A golden duck for the opener as Saurashtra still needs 12 to win.
Harvik Desai and Jay Gohil walks out to face Mukesh Kumar.
Jaydev Unadkat finally takes the last wicket as he removes Ishan Porel on 22. Bengal finishes its second innings on 241 and Saurashtra needs 12 runs to win the title. Ishan Porel b Unadkat 22(21)
The last pair continues to irritate Saurashtra as the visitors fail to take the final wicket in the last seven overs. The stand between Porel and Kumar is near 50 now.
Mukesh Kumar hits back-to-back fours to level the score here as Saurashtra will now have to bat again.
Gone!! Through the gates! Skipper Jaydev Unadkat is roaring as he completes his fifer in the Ranji Trophy final. He looks exhilarated as the visitors are just a wicket away from clinching the title. The ball was pitched up which came in for Ghatak to crash into the stumps. Akash Ghatak b Unadkat 4(9)
Bengal is falling like a pack of cards and Saurashtra looks to wrap up this inning quickly. Jaydev Unadkat to Akash Deep, OUT! He misses the line with the bat and the ball crashes into the back pad. Umpire did not hesitate to signal it out. Akash Deep takes a review however the decision stands. Akash Deep lbw b Unadkat 1(3)
Another wicket falls! Sakariya strikes this time to remove Abhishek Porel. Saurashtra is sniffing a title win soon here as Porel departs after scoring just three. Sakariya targets his body line to cramp him with a short ball, and Porel edges it to Parth Bhut at deep square leg for another wicket. Abhishek Porel c Parth Bhut b Chetan Sakariya 3(11)
Captain gets captain again! Unadkat extends his first spell and gets his due dividends in the form of Tiwary’s wicket who was batting on 68. Manoj Tiwary c Vishvaraj Jadeja b Unadkat 68(154)
RUN OUT! What have you done, Shahbaz? Tiwary and Shahbaz mix-up in the quest for a needless third run after the left-hander drove Unadkat down to deep cover. The batters end up at the striker’s end as Unadkat flicks the bails at the other end. Massive wicket against the run of play as Tiwary is distraught with the result.
Shahbaz 27(38) Run Out A V Vasavada
Sakariya continues to spray his outswingers and Tiwary is content on leaving them on length. Beaten. A finer line outside the off-stump and Tiwary prods forward but the ball whiffs past the outside-edge.
Unadkat overpitches and Shahbaz Ahmed leans into a cracking cover drive for FOUR.
A hint of swing for Chetan Sakariya as he moves the ball away from Shahbaz Ahmed but oversteps on the first delivery of the day. Loud shout as Sakariya tails one in and hits Shahbaz high on the pad. The umpire is unmoved but Unadkat reviews. Wickets Missing and Shahbaz survives. Edged and dropped at second slip! Shahbaz gets a thick outside edge on the outswinger and Prerak Mankad dives to his left but fails to hold onto a tough chance. He has hurt his shoulder and is leaving the field in pain. Sakariya slides the ball in and Manoj Tiwary opens his account on Day 4 with a wristy flick through mid-wicket for FOUR.
Jaydev Unadkat leads his team out to the field. Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed are back in the middle for Bengal. A 61-run deficit is still hanging over their heads.
Speaking to media persons after the day’s play, Saurashtra coach Niraj Odedra said both sides played well.
“Some parts were good for them, some good for us. Credit to our bowlers, they bowled their hearts out. Still, two days to go. It’s a Ranji Trophy final. You just can’t come in and win. It’s always an even contest,” said Odedra.
Bengal coach Laxmi Ratan Shukla continued to remain positive even as his side trailed by 61 runs. “It’s not over till it’s over. They are fighting it out, we are also fighting. We still have a long way to go,” he said.
“The way our bowlers helped the side come back in the morning and the responsible show by Anustup (Majumdar) and (Manoj) Tiwary was superb.”
“We are all positive. We just want to continue with the process,” said Shukla.
BEN v SAU Day 3 review
Seasoned campaigners- captain Manoj Tiwary and Anustup Majumdar defied immense pressure to score fighting half-centuries and keep Bengal afloat even as Saurashtra maintained a firm grip over the Ranji Trophy final at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday.
Resuming from 317 for five, Saurashtra gathered 87 runs more in a little over two hours to aggregate 404, the maximum runs conceded by Bengal in an innings this season, in its first essay and secure a huge 230-run lead.
Responding to the challenge, Bengal scored 169 for four in its second innings and trailed by 61 runs at stumps on the third day.
Bengal had another disappointing start as opener Sumanta Gupta again got out to Chetan Sakariya before lunch in an uncannily similar fashion, captured at the second slip in the second over, to the way he had departed in the first innings.
In the less-testing second period, the visiting pacers bowled good lines to reduce Bengal to 47 for three. Abhimanyu Easwaran, who escaped a run-out attempt, was caught behind off Sakariya, and Sudip Gharami was held at first slip off Jaydev Unadkat.
However, Anustup and Tiwary refused to give up. Anustup worked the ball around to get into rhythm, while Tiwary, who took 10 balls to score his first run, slowly got set.
Even as they looked to spend time in the middle, Anustup and Tiwary dispatched the erring deliveries to the boundary.
Anustup (61, 101b, 8x4) drove, cut and flicked with confidence to get his fifty. He shared a valuable 99-run partnership with Tiwary before playing Unadkat to gully.
A determined Tiwary (57 n.o., 129b, 9x4), whose half-century was studded with fours on either side, did not lose focus though. He stayed with Shahbaz Ahmed to fight another day.
Earlier, Bengal began the day on an encouraging note with Mukesh Kumar scalping Arpit Vasavada, who, in a rare lapse, connected an away-going delivery to the ‘keeper, in the first over.
Mukesh struck again, finding the other overnight batter Chirag Jani’s outside edge and securing a four-wicket haul.
Akash Deep produced two beauties to dismiss Unadkat and Prerak Mankad (33, 50b, 6x4) to claim three wickets.
Displaying Saurashtra’s depth in batting, its last pair – Parth Bhut, who was dropped twice off Akash Deep by the butter-fingered fielders, and Dharmendra Jadeja – frustrated the host by adding 35 runs and making Bengal’s journey more challenging.
Ishan Porel took Dharmendra as his third victim to end Saurashtra’s innings.
- Y. B. Sarangi
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