Saurashtra’s grip strong, Unadkat and Sakaria took two wickets each

Skipper Jaydev Unadkat and Chetan Sakariya took two wickets each to put Saurashtra within inches of winning their second Ranji Trophy title as hosts Bengal took four wickets in the second innings on the third day of the ongoing final at the Eden Gardens here on Saturday. Struggling to score 169 runs after losing wickets. Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary is at the crease on 57 as the hosts still trail Saurashtra’s first innings score of 404 by 61 runs. Saurashtra’s left-arm pacer was bowling dangerously, leaving Unadkat’s men in a position to finish the match on Sunday itself.

Bengal’s pace attack was ineffective in the morning session as Saurashtra scored 317 for five in the night, adding 87 runs to cross the 400-run mark. Although yesterday’s unbeaten batsmen Arpit Vasavada (81 runs) and Chirag Jani (60 runs) were dismissed early, but tailenders Prerak Mankad (33 runs) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (29 runs) took Saurashtra to a big score. Bengal also gave 35 extra runs to Saurashtra.

Put in to bat in the second innings, Bengal got off to a poor start, with Sakariya (2/50) and Unadkat (2/47) sending the top-order to the pavilion to reduce their score to 47 for three in the post-lunch session. Gave. Bengal were still trailing by 183 runs and were in danger of an innings defeat but Anustup Majumdar (61 runs) and Tiwary shared a 99-run partnership to give some hope to the more than 1000 spectators present in the stadium.

Shahbaz Ahmed is playing on 13 with Tiwary till stumps. Bengal were eyeing their first Ranji Trophy title in 32 years but with that not happening, they can only hope for a miracle. Earlier, fast bowler Mukesh Kumar was the highest wicket-taker for Bengal. He took four wickets for 111 runs, sending Vasavada and Jani to the pavilion. Akash Deep and Ishan Porel also got three wickets each.