Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | GUJ v SAU - Jaydev Unadkat seven-fer seals Saurashtra win

Ranji Trophy 2019-20 | GUJ v SAU - Jaydev Unadkat seven-fer seals Saurashtra win

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Skipper Jaydev Unadkat ran through the Gujarat lineup with a seven-wicket haul to seal his side's ticket in the final of the 2019-20 Ranji season with a 92-run win at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. Arpit Vasavada was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 139 in the second innings.

In the end, Gujarat’s second innings played out like a typical three-act plot. In the first act, which began yesterday and continued up until the second hour of play on the final day, which saw the visitors lose half their side while just reaching 63, en route their target of 327. At that point, it seemed like smooth sailing into a second-straight Ranji final for Saurashtra.

However, Gujarat’s skipper Parthiv Patel and Chirag Gandhi had different ideas. The duo’s counter-attacking batsmanship brought Gujarat back to life. The 100-mark was soon breached. 150 and 200 followed shortly thereafter. The milestones ticked over one by one, and soon Gujarat were less than 100 away from the target with both batsmen in their 90s. 

Unadkat threw himself back on for the final act of the fifth day’s tale and changed the course of the match in a jiffy. He dismissed his opposite number and Axar Patel off successive deliveries to complete his fifer and trigger a collapse. Gujarat slipped from 221 for five in the 67th over to being bundled out for 234 in the 73rd. Unadkat, who has 65 scalps this season, is only four wickets away from becoming the most successful bowler in a season.

That sets up a mouth-watering finale to this season's Ranji final. Bengal, their opponents, will be strengthened by the return of Wriddhiman Saha and, quite possibly, Mohammad Shami. Saurashtra, on the other hand, will welcome back Cheteshwar Pujara while waiting for the BCCI let Ravindra Jadeja play as well. The biggest advantage yet will be that the match will be held on Saurashtra’s home ground, from March 9.

Brief scores: Saurashtra 304 all-out in 127.4 overs (Sheldon Jackson 103; Arzan Nagwaswalla 5-81) & 274 all-out in 98.4 overs (Arpit Vasavada 139; Chintan Gaja 7-71) beat Gujarat 252 all-out in 87.3 overs (Rujul Bhatt 71; Jaydev Unadkat 3-86) & 234 all-out in 72.2 overs (Chirag Gandhi 96; Jaydev Unadkat 7-56). 

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