Ranji Trophy Final: Saurashtra, Bengal share honours on Day one

The highlights of day one action from the Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal at the SCA Stadium in Rajkot.

Saurashtra's Vishvaraj Jadeja plays a shot on Day one of the Ranji Trophy final against Bengal.

Day 1 Highlights:

Follow day two's play LIVE here on our blog.

What a day this has been. Great start to the final as both teams share the honours at Stumps on Day one. Saurashtra began on a strong note with Harvik Desai and Avi Barot giving their team a great start. However, Bengal bounced back in the second session by picking Harvik and got the breakthrough they wanted. Fifties from Barok and Vishvaraj Jadeja propped up Saurashtra but Bengal once again crawled back by packing off both the half-centurions. While Arpit Vasavada held one end, Sheldon Jackson perished, an unwell Cheteshwar Pujara walked back and Chetan Sakariya perished at close. With 206/5, Bengal will hope to make further inroads, while Saurashtra frets on Pujara's illness. Do join us for Day two as it promises to be a cracker. Till then, goodbye.

• Stumps - Day one 206/5 80.5 overs.
• WICKET - Akash Deep strikes and this time Bengal's review turns successful. Chetan Sakariya as to depart at the stroke of stumps and Bengal is right back in this game. Appeal for a caught behind, the umpire was unmoved, Bengal took the review and the third umpire is convinced that the ball has touched the bat on its way to the keeper.
• Bengal review LBW decision - Huge appeal for leg before as Akash Deep is confident of trapping Chetan Sakariya. Umpire says Not-out and Akash insists his captain takes the review. The ball kept low and hit Sakariya on the back leg. Replays show the ball has clearly pitched outside leg. Bengal loses its second review.
• Cheteshwar Pujara has walked off the field. Chetan Sakariya walks out.
• Important passage of play as the Bengal unit is charged up with the dismissal of Jackson and it is eyeing the prized scalp of Pujara. Lot of chatter around Pujara but he is ice-cool. Vasavada on the other hand is quietly playing his own game. While Saurastra would want this pair to carry their bat through, Bengal would be mightily pleased if they can sneak in one. Saurashtra 193/4 after 74 overs.
• Pujara is off the mark with an elegant flick and the ball has enough legs to cross the ropes. Strayed down the leg side and all that Pujara had to do was to just help it to the fence.
• Alright then, finally, Cheteshwar Pujara walks out to join Arpit Vasavada.
• WICKET - Big wicket as Ishan Porel removes Sheldon Jackson. Sharp incoming delivery, Jackson plays all over it, misjudged the length and he is trapped plumb. Saurashtra 182/4 after 96 overs.
• Sheldon Jackson has found the sweet spot of his bat with three exquisite cover drives. Mukesh Kumar errs in his length and Jackson pounces on it. Saurastra going strong.
• Sheldon Jackson is the new man in and he gets underway with a boundary.
• WICKET - Akash Deep strikes and he castles half-centurion Vishvaraj Jadeja with a peach of a delivery.  Change of ball doing the trick as Akash bowls a lovely in-swinger, there is a huge gap between bat and pad as the ball sneaks in to disturb the timber. Saurashtra 163/3 after 65.4 overs.
• Bengal has asked for a ball change and their request is obliged by the umpires.
• Fifty for Jadeja - Gets to his fifty with a boundary and what a brilliant knock this has been. Important he converts it into a big one. Saurashtra 159/2 after 61.1 overs.
• We are back for the final session of play and all eyes on Vishvaraj Jadeja who is three runs short of his fifty.
• It's tea on day one of the Ranji Trophy final. Saurashtra lost two wickets in the post-lunch session adding 78 runs in the bargain, making it an even session. Bengal looked to be regaining the upper hand in the first hour after lunch but since being 113 for two, Vishvaraj Jadeja and Arpit Vasavada have taken Saurashtra to a strong position at 155 for two. Jadeja's batting on 47 and has been the more fluent of the two batsmen. Join us in 20 minutes for the final session of play.
• Saurashtra's regaining control of the match thanks to what is a developing partnership between Vishvaraj Jadeja and Arpit Vasavada, who have added 35 runs for the third wicket so far. The last two overs have cost Bengal 19 runs, with the tactic of bowling short not quite working: Vishvaraj, in particular, has been comfortable playing the pull, managing to keep the ball along the ground and finding the boundary by hitting it in front of square, while the odd ball has gone past the outside edge. Saurashtra 148/2 after 59 overs
• Vishvaraj Jadeja and Arpit Vasavada are slowly building a partnership with the latter playing a couple of lovely pull strokes. Bengal, meanwhile, are busy plotting another dismissal with spin from one end and pace from the other. Saurashtra 123/2 after 54.2 overs.
• Our correspondent Wriddhaayan Bhattacharya pings from Rajkot | Akash Deep strikes. Gets rid of Avi Barot 54, caught by Wriddhiman Saha. The crowd cheered out loud thinking Pujara will come out next but the new batsman is Arpit Vasavada.

Bengal seamer Akash Deep celebrates taking the wicket of Saurashtra's Avi Barot.

 

• Still no Cheteshwar Pujara as left-hand batsman and previous match centurion Arpit Vasavada walks in.
• WICKET - The well-set Barot departs and Akash Deep strikes. Saurashtra took the review after the umpire adjudged Barot caught behind. There was a clear edge and the third umpire after taking a close look asked the on-field umpire to stay with his decision. Big wicket for Bengal. Saurashtra 113/2 after 48.1 overs.   And it's time for a Drinks break.
• Only four bowlers used so far and surprisingly, only one spinner. Arnab Nandi introduced into the attack. Saurashtra 108/1 after 46.2 overs.
• Our correspondent Wriddhaayan Bhattacharya pings from Rajkot | 100 up for Saurashtra. As expected, the batsmen were on top of the bowlers in the first session. But Bengal pulled one back after lunch. Harvik Desai (38) was caught by Abhishek Raman (sub) at silly point off Shahbaz. Avi Barot (52*) looks set for a long innings. Saurashtra 105/1 after 44.4 overs.
• Change of bowling as Akash Deep is back into the attack.
• Fifty for Barot - Excellent half-century from the Saurashtra opener and he has played the typical innings of an opener. Took his time, got his eye in and then went about his business of occupying the crease. He will look forward to convert this into a big one. Saurashtra 97/1 after 42.2 overs.
• Appeal for a caught behind, umpire says No and Bengal takes the review. It's Not Out and the on-field decision stays.
• Good chance for Bengal to pick another wicket and they have been aggressive with their field settings post lunch.  Saurashtra 86/1 after 40 overs.
• Vishvaraj Jadeja is the new man in.
• WICKET - Shahbaz Ahmed strikes and Harvik Desai departs. Bengal strikes immediately after Lunch and substitute fielder Abhishek Raman takes an excellent catch at silly point. Saurashtra 82/1 after 37.5 overs.
• Bengal continues to operate spin but there isn't much turn. Barot and Harvik will look to occupy the crease further. Saurashtra 79/0 after 36 overs.
• Welcome back and the second session of the final is all set to begin.

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• And that would be Lunch on Day one of the final. What a session this has been for Saurashtra. Both openers Avi Barot and Harvik Desai have done exactly what was required from them and they head into the break unseperated. Bengal, meanwhile, would rue the two drop catches but their bowlers could hardly get any assistance from the pitch. Saurashtra 77/0 after 35 overs. See you in 45 minutes.
• Our correspondent Wriddhaayan Bhattacharya pings from Rajkot | The concern for Bengal here will be the finger niggle to Anustup. He went off the field after the first dropped chance.
• Harvik Desai gets another reprieve on 35 and this time Sudip drops him at slip. Shahbaz gets one land in the rough, the ball spins away as Harvik prods forward, takes an edge and Sudip dives to his left, gets a hand on the ball but drops it. Twice lucky! Saurashtra 72/0 after 28 overs.
• Harvik Desai gets a reprieve on 22. Anustup Mazumdar at first slip sticks his hand out but fails to gobble up the chance. Clearly the bowler Akash Deep is disaapointed.
• Our correspondent Wriddhaayan Bhattacharya pings from Rajkot | 50 up for Saurashtra. Avi Barot and Harvik Desai scored 28 of them in boundaries. Ishan Porel and Mukesh Kumar couldn't do anything extraordinary yet.
• Fifty up for Saurashtra | Harvik Desai and Avi Barot bring up the fifty for Saurashtra and have given the home side a fine start. While Desai is batting on 20, Barot is unbeaten on 29. Saurashtra 50/0 after 17 overs.
• Runs are coming at a fair clip as both Barot and Harvik are batting without taking any risks. Both batsmen are constantly rotating the strike and are occasionally finding the boundaries. Saurashtra 43/0 after 15 overs.
• After 10 overs Saurashtra 31/0
• Hitting the right length is crucial on this pitch and Harvik punishes Mukesh by driving him for a couple of boundaries. Both openers are looking solid.
• Spin being introduced early and it will be Shahbaz Ahmed with his left-arm spin .
• Both openers have given Saurashtra a steady start as Bengal searches for an early breakthrough. Saurashtra 17/0 after 5 overs.

Saurashtra opener Harvik Desai gave his team a solid start.

 

• FOUR - First boundary of the final and Barot drives a fullish delivery through the covers. Saurashtra and Barot are underway.
• Mukesh Kumar to partner Ishan Porel
• Saurashtra is yet to open the account as Porel starts with a maiden.
• Our correspondent Wriddhaayan Bhattacharya pings from Rajkot | Saurashtra to bat first; surprise inclusion for Bengal, as we had reported earlier, is Sudip Kumar Gharami. He is will make his debut in the big final replacing Abhishek Raman. Saha replaces Goswami behind the stumps.
• Harvik Desai and Avi Barot are out in the middle and Ishan Porel will open the bowling for Bengal with Desai on strike. Here we go!
• Bengal Playing XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran (C), Sudip Kumar Gharami, Sudip Chatterjee, Manoj Tiwary, Wriddhiman Saha (WK), Anustup Majumdar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Arnab Nandi, Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Porel
• Saurashtra Playing XI: Harvik Desai, Avi Barot (WK), Cheteshwar Pujara, Vishvaraj Jadeja, Sheldon Jackson, Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani, Prerak Mankad, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Jaydev Unadkat (C), Chetan Sakariya
• TOSS: Saurashtra has won the toss and elected to bat against Bengal in Rajkot.

Saurashtra won the toss and elected to bat first in the Ranji Trophy final in Rajkot.

 

• Stay tuned as we will bring you the toss and playing XIs.
• After a long season we have reached to the final of the Ranji Trophy where Saurashtra will take on Bengal in Rajkot.

 

Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran is high on confidence after the bowlers’ performance against the likes of K.L. Rahul, Karun Nair and Manish Pandey. Wriddhaayan Bhattacharyya caught up with Easwaran : Bengal not wary of Cheteshwar Pujara

 

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The Ranji Trophy 2019-20 final, between Saurashtra and Bengal, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium is a magnum opus for all the stakeholders. And that's the beauty of the tournament. In and around India, it keeps everyone interested.

It is a big final and the contenders aren't from the main centres of excellence - Mumbai, Karnataka or Delhi.

Ranji Trophy final: Bengal not wary of Cheteshwar Pujara

Bengal opener Koushik Ghosh is upset to be missing out on the crucial fixture due to an injury. Abhimanyu Easwaran felt relieved that the early finish against Karnataka offered his side an extra day to rest.  Anustup Majumdar,  doing the hard yard since 2004, knows his runs wouldn’t hold any value if they don’t win the final.

The trophy is not a frequent visitor to Bengal and the wait keeps getting longer every season. The first title came in 1938-39 in British India. The second one in 1989-90; after fifty years. And now, the third chance, in 13 years. Read the full preview here .

 

The match will be streamed live on Hot Star.