Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | GUJ v SAUR - Bowlers backup Sheldon Jackon ton to put Saurashtra in command
Saurashtra’s bowlers carried on the momentum given to them by Sheldon Jackson’s century to put their side into a commanding position over Gujarat in the first semi-final of the 2019-20 Ranji season. Gujarat were six down, still trailing by 185 runs when play ended on the second day in Rajkot.
In the end, it was a superb day for Saurashtra in their own backyard, the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. But it didn’t look likely to go their way in the early part of the day when the hosts lost their last five wickets for 39 runs. After a century-stand between Jackson and Chirag Jani, who played out 123 deliveries for 29, Saurashtra slipped from 265 for five to 304 all-out.
Jani fell first, Jackson followed, and the rest was a mere formality though they managed to breach the 300-run mark. Arzan Nagwaswalla completed his fifer for Gujarat, while Axar Patel finished with figures of three for 56.
But Saurashtra's bowlers came out all guns blazing, led by their in-form skipper Jaydev Unadkat. The left-arm pacer extended his lead at top of the bowling charts with his 56th and 57th wickets of the season. Unadkat removed Priyank Panchal off the third ball of the innings before returning later in the day to dismiss Dhruv Raval, who was looking good on 35.
His teammates chipped in with useful spells as their visitors were reduced to 58 for four before a brief counter-attack from Gujarat skipper Parthiv Patel. Left-arm spinner DA Jadeja ended Parthiv’s cameo on 27, before dismissing Chirag Gandhi for nought as Gujarat crawled their way to 119 for six at stumps.
Brief scores: Saurashtra 304 all-out in 127.4 overs (Sheldon Jackson 103; Kishan Parmar 37; Arzan Nagwaswalla 5-81) vs Gujarat 119/6 in 39 overs (Dhruv Raval 35; Rujul Bhatt 27*; DA Jadeja 2-10).