Saurashtra coach hopeful of fightback against Gujarat

"Generally, on the last day, it does spin a bit but then for that we will have to bat up to tea tomorrow and we are quite capable of that," coach Niraj Odedra said.

Saurashtra currently has a lead of 118 with five wickets remaining.

There was disappointment writ large on the faces of Saurashtra cricketers as they walked back to the pavilion after the day's play on Monday. 

From being in a comfortable position — taking a first-innings lead of 52 — Saurashtra lost the plot in the second innings of its Ranji Trophy semifinal fixture against Gujarat, reeling at 66-5 at the end of third day's play.

MATCH REPORT | As it Happened

But Saurashtra coach Niraj Odedra was hopeful of his team fighting back. "It was definitely a bad day. I think they (the batsmen) could have applied themselves better," Odedra said.

With Chintan Gaja scalping a five-for, Saurashtra top-order failed to get going. "One good thing was nobody threw their wickets, everybody got out to a good ball. But then this is a semifinal and you expect that sort of bowling," the coach said.

Enjoying a 118-run lead now, the home team's aim is to set a target of around 250 -- which, however, looks difficult at this stage. "The sort of situation we are in, if we can get 250 and then add that lead, I think that would be a really good total," Odedra said.

"Generally, on the last day, it does spin a bit but then for that we will have to bat up to tea tomorrow and we are quite capable of that," the coach said, adding: "We were in this sort of situation against Karnataka. That was a one-day game and we were 35 for 6, and then Prerak Mankad and Chirag Jani got us through and we got 230 from there. I was thinking of that game and both of them are still to come, so you never know," the coach said.