Suresh Raina was left to rue the decision to field as Saurashtra virtually batted Uttar Pradesh out of the contest in its Vijay Hazare campaign-opener at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
Raina’s inaccurate reading of the pitch and the conditions saw Saurashtra hammer 303 for nine in 50 overs, built largely on a 194-run opening wicket stand between Sheldon Jackson (107, 108b, 14x4, 2x6) and Robin Uthappa (97, 110b, 11x4, 4x6).
In reply, UP never seriously threatened Saurashtra and folded at 278 in the final over.
Once Prerak Mankad sent back the UP openers Shivam Chaudhary (31) and Umang Sharma (25) by the 17th over, the team relied heavily on Raina to show the way. However, the left-hander departed in his attempt to hit a third successive boundary, for a 22-ball 22, that left UP tottering at 107 for three in the 23rd over. Thereafter, Saurashtra
stayed in control despite Akshdeep Nath helping himself to a 53-ball 62.
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Saurashtra, winner by 25 runs will return to the same venue to take on Delhi on Thursday.
For Saurashtra, the bulk of the work was done by the openers. Jackson, unlike Uthappa, was quick off the blocks. He set the pace and took the pressure off the former Karnataka opener. Jackson was first to reach his half-century but soon, Uthappa changed gears. As the partnership moved closer to the 200-run mark, Uthappa overtook Sheldon but fell
leg-before and missed out on a well-deserved century. Sheldon was not to be denied as he continued the good work in the company of Cheteshwar Pujara (31, 34b, 5x4).
Thereafter, UP did well to claim eight wickets in the space of the last 55 deliveries for 66 runs, with youngster Shivam Mavi collecting a final-over hat-trick as Saurashtra looked for some big hits.
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Mavi had Chirag Jani caught at deep square leg, Arpit Vasavada at long-off before shattering the stumps of Jaydev Unadkat to complete the hat-trick.
However, UP’s below par batting in perfect conditions ensured the match never looked like a close contest.
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