There is no better sight in cricket than a fast bowler operating with the new ball and going for wickets. On an eventful Wednesday, speedster Jasprit Bumrah, possessing strength, energy and skill, powered Gujarat into the Ranji Trophy final after six-and-a-half decades. His career-best six for 29 in 14 overs dismantled the Jharkhand batting order and won the match for his side by 123 runs with a day to spare.
After skipper Parthiv Patel gave a pep talk to his teammates, Manprit Juneja and Chirag Gandhi responded with splendid half-centuries, leaving the onerous job of defending a target of 235 to the bowling department.
Left-arm medium-pacer R.P. Singh, who showed fine craft to take six wickets in the first innings, provided two crucial breakthroughs to bring the opponent under immense pressure.
Once Bumrah bowled Sumit Kumar neck and crop, there was no stopping him from making further inroads; he had found his bearings in his opening burst, and turned even more deadly after a short break.
The fifth-wicket stand between left hander Virat Singh and Ishan Kishan delivered a small partnership of 36 runs. Their fall, in the space of three runs, raised the possibility of Jharkhand’s collapse on the fourth day itself. And it happened, with the umpires extending play after the fall of the ninth wicket at 4.30 p.m.
R.P. Singh took the last wicket, returning excellent match figures of nine for 115, to wrap up the semifinal.
“The Ranji Trophy final is a dream come true for all of us in the team. We felt great in the middle. We have really worked hard for this moment over the last three...four years,” Parthiv said.
The scores:
Gujarat — 1st Innings: 390.
Jharkhand — 1st Innings: 408.
Gujarat — 2nd Innings: Samit Gohil lbw b Nadeem 49, Priyank Panchal run out 1, Bhargav Merai b Nadeem 44, Parthiv Patel c Virat b Nadeem 1, Manpreet Juneja lbw b Nadeem 81, Hardik Patel c Tiwary b Vikash 6, Rujul Bhatt c Kishan b Vikash 2, Chirag Gandhi c Virat b Nadeem 51, R.P. Singh b Shukla 1, Jasprit Bumrah (not out) 1, Rush Kalaria absent hurt; Extras (b-13, lb-1, w-1): 15; Total (in 81 overs): 252.
Fall of wickets: 1-18, 2-87, 3-93, 4-98, 5-135, 6-137, 7-217, 8-218, 9-252.
Jharkhand bowling: Ajay Yadav 18-4-43-0, Rahul Shukla 20-4-50-1, Shahbaz Nadeem 25-5-69-5, Vikash Singh 11-1-44-2, Kaushal Singh 6-0-24-0, Pratyush Singh 1-0-8-0.
Jharkhand — 2nd Innings: Pratyush Singh b R.P. Singh 0, Sumit Kumar b Bumrah 0, Virat Singh c Gohil b Bumrah 17, Saurabh Tiwary lbw b R.P. Singh 17, Ishank Jaggi b Hardik 1, Ishan Kishan c Parthiv b Bumrah 19, Kaushal Singh c Parthiv b Bumrah 24, Shahbaz Nadeem c Panchal b Bumrah 1, Rahul Shukla b Bumrah 1, Vikash Singh c Parthiv b R.P. Singh 18, Ajay Yadav (not out) 2; Extras (lb-11): 11; Total (in 41 overs): 111.
Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-6, 3-26, 4-27, 5-63, 6-66, 7-70, 8-72, 9-105.
Gujarat bowling: R.P. Singh 12-7-25-3, Jasprit Bumrah 14-4-29-6, Hardik Patel 15-4-46-1 .
