Saurashtra wins Ranji Trophy title, beats Bengal by nine wickets in final

In a repeat of the result of the 2020 final back home in Rajkot, Saurashtra chased down a ridiculously easy target of 12 runs prior to lunch.

Ranji Trophy-winning Saurashtra players celebrate as captain Jaydev Unadkat lifts the trophy after beating Bengal by nine wickets at Eden Gardens Stadium, Kolkata, on February 19, 2023.  | Photo Credit: ANI

Inspiring skipper Jaydev Unadkat led by example with a six-wicket haul to guide Saurashtra to an authoritative nine-wicket victory over Bengal on Sunday and underscored his team’s ascendancy in red-ball cricket by winning the second crown in three seasons on the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy final at the Eden Gardens here.

Facing an uphill task and a deficit of 61 runs, Bengal resumed its fightback from 169 for four to barely avoid the ignominy of facing an innings defeat at home by posting 241.

In a repeat of the result of the 2020 final back home in Rajkot, Saurashtra chased down a ridiculously easy target of 12 runs prior to lunch at its captain and former Kolkata Knight Riders player Unadkat’s ‘second home’.

The unbeaten pair of captain Manoj Tiwary (68, 154b, 10x4) and Shahbaz Ahmed (27, 38b, 4x4) began in the right earnest to gather 48 before the latter was run out due to a horrible mix-up with his skipper, who erred in calling for a third run, in the sixth over of the day.

It was a deadly blow as Bengal lost three more wickets in the next six overs with Unadkat, who had scalped Sudip Gharami and Anustup Majumdar overnight, doing most of the damage.

Tiwary poked a wider one from his opposite number to gully, while wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel pulled Chetan Sakariya to deep square-leg in consecutive overs.

Unadkat kept it on the stumps to get rid of Akash Deep and Akash Ghatak.

The host’s last pair, Ishan Porel and Mukesh Kumar, fought on and used the long handle well to garner 36 runs. It helped Bengal erase the deficit and make Saurashtra bat again.

Unadkat uprooted Ishan’s off-stump to end the resistance.

Saurashtra lost Jay Gohil before collecting the required runs in 2.4 overs, with Harvik Desai hitting the winning runs, to secure its second crown of the season after its 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy victory.

Applauded by their families, the Saurashtra cricketers broke into celebrations even as the Bengal players looked on with drooping shoulders and teary eyes.

Unadkat, who returned to lead the side in the final, captured six wickets in the innings and nine in the match to be the ‘player-of-the-match.’

Arpit Vasavada, the season’s second-highest run-getter (907) and the stand-in captain in a few matches, was the ‘player of the tournament.’

In a fine gesture, Unadkat asked Vasavada to lift the trophy along with him.

The scores:

Bengal -- 1st innings: 174

Saurashtra -- 1st innings: 404

Bengal -- 2nd innings: Sumanta Gupta c Mankad b Sakariya 1, Abhimanyu Easwaran c Harvik b Sakariya 16, Sudip Gharami c Mankad b Unadkat 14, Anustup Majumdar c Vishvaraj b Unadkat 61, Manoj Tiwary c Vishvaraj b Unadkat 68, Shahbaz Ahmed (run out) 27, Abishek Porel c Bhut b Sakariya 3, Akash Ghatak b Unadkat 4, Akash Deep lbw b Unadkat 1, Mukesh Kumar (not out) 15, Ishan Porel b Unadkat 22, Extras (b-4, lb-2, nb-2, w-1) 9, Total (in 70.4 overs) 241

Fall of wickets: 1-1, 2-22, 3-47, 4-146, 5-194, 6-198, 7-198, 8-200, 9-205

Saurashtra bowling: 22.4-1-85-6, Sakariya 21-2-76,3, Jani 5-0-12-0, Dharmendra 9-2-29-0, Mankad 9-1-21-0, Bhut 4-0-12-0

Saurashtra -- 2nd innings: Harvik Dessai (not out) 4, Jay Gohil c Gharami b Akash Deep 0, Vishvaraj Jadeja (not out) 10, Total (for one wicket in 2.4 overs) 14

Fall of wicket: 1-0

Bengal bowling: Mukesh 1.4-1-9-0, Akash Deep 1-0-5-1.