Ranji Trophy 2022-23 Final: Saurashtra startle Bengal by nine wickets to win second title; fans rejoice

Left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat returned a match haul of nine wickets, including 6/85 in the second innings. On Sunday, Saurashtra thrashed Bengal by nine wickets in the summit clash to clinch its second Ranji Trophy title at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Having given away a big first innings lead of 230 runs, Bengal, overnight 169/4 in its second essay, folded for 241, handing the visitors a mere 12 runs target to win the Final.

Saurashtra lost its opening batter Jay Gohil (0), off the bowling of Akash Deep, but eventually went past the target, reaching 14/1 in 2.4 overs, to wrap up the match with a day and a couple of full sessions to spare. Saurashtra's earlier triumph was in the 2019-20 season when it conquered Bengal based on first innings lead.

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Saurashtra has made the final five times in the last ten seasons, underlining its consistency. A Ranji Trophy title eluded Bengal yet again. It last won it in 1998-90 when it defeated a star-studded Delhi at the same Eden Gardens. Its first title had come in 1938-39 in the pre-independence era.

Earlier, in the morning session, Unadkat showed the way after a freak run-out of Bengal batter Shahbaz Ahmed (27). The veteran Saurashtra skipper added four wickets to his overnight tally of two. The old Bengal warhorse duo of skipper Manoj Tiwary (68) and Anustup Majumdar (61) slammed valiant half-centuries. Still, its top-order batters let down the home side, including the promising Abhimanyu Easwaran, who scored 0 and 16 in the two innings.

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In-form No. 3 batter Sudip Gharami, who is fresh from a 112 and 41 in the semi-final against Madhya Pradesh and has 800-plus runs this season, also came a cropper and scored 0 and 14 in the two innings. The decision to hand a debut to Sumanta Gupta in a Ranji Final also will rankle Bengal, as he did not show any technique of a top-order batter and perished to an outgoing delivery.

State sports minister-cum-cricketer Tiwary had delayed his retirement to win a Ranji title from his fourth Final. It remains to be seen whether he will continue to play in the upcoming season. Earlier, the overnight duo of Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed committed hara-kiri while going for a third run. Ahmed had to sacrifice his wicket to give Saurahshtra its first breakthrough of the day.

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It also unsettled Tiwary as he followed suit and got out for 68 after chasing a wide delivery from Unadkat. In no time, Bengal was reduced to 205/9, still trailing by 25 runs. But, Bengal's last pair of Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel avoided the ignominy of an innings defeat, scoring 36 runs in 37 balls to delay the inevitable.

Unadkat, released from the Indian Test side to play in the Ranji Final, had bagged 3/44 in the Bengal first innings. He was ably supported by fellow left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya (3/33) after Saurashtra opted to bowl on a lively pitch. Having prepared a green top, Bengal was caught in its web as its top-order batters showed a complete lack of application on the opening day.
Brief Scores: Bengal 174 and 241 (Manoj Tiwary- 68, Anustup Majumdar- 61; Jaydev Unadkat- 6/85, Chetan Sakariya- 3/76) lost to Saurashtra 404 and 14/1 by nine wickets.

(With inputs from PTI)