Arpit Vasavada, Saurashtra’s rescuer in the semifinal against Gujarat, played the role of a consolidator against Bengal to strengthen the host’s position in the Ranji Trophy final at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Tuesday.
Vasavada’s second consecutive century (106, 287b, 11x4) within a week and his 142-run chanceless stand with childhood friend Cheteshwar Pujara (66, 237b, 5x4) on the second day enabled Saurashtra, resuming on 206 for five, to gather 178 runs in 79.1 overs and aggregate 384 for eight in its first innings at stumps.
Also read: Ranji Trophy: Centurion Arpit Vasavada happy with crucial contribution
Two wickets by Mukesh Kumar and one by Shahbaz Ahmed helped Bengal gain some control in the final session.
After Pujara — who retired on five overnight due to health issues — joined Vasavada, the left-right combination used their experience to make the task of surviving on a testing track look easy.
Tremendous application
The two — looking to wear out the opposition — showed tremendous application on a slow surface even as Bengal pacers bowled tight lines to do the containing job. The spinners posed threat by capitalising on the natural wear and tear and unpredictable bounce.
In the opening session, Vasavada bravely faced Akash Deep, whose hostile spell was peppered with bouncers on the left-hander’s leg-stump, while Pujara had a fascinating duel with left-arm spinner Shahbaz.
Pujara, troubled by the odd ball that jumped suddenly, stepped out on numerous occasions and survived a few lbw appeals. Bengal once referred the DRS in vain.
Also read: Arpit Vasavada: ‘Pujara and I wanted to bat long, tire the bowlers’
Vasavada, 29 overnight, played every ball on merit. He cut and drove confidently on the off-side.
Fourth hundred
Vasavada and Pujara defended solidly after lunch. The left-hander, who got to his half-century with a four, sent part-timer Anustup Majumdar to the point fence to notch up his fourth hundred of the season, including three on the same ground.
“We wanted to bat as long as possible and tire them out,” said Vasavada.
Pujara, who narrowly escaped getting run out at the non-striker’s end, scored his fifty by cutting Arnab Nandi to the boundary.
Also read: Arun Lal — the man behind Bengal’s march
Bengal tasted success after about 63 overs when Shahbaz had Vasavada stumped to end a five-hour long stand since morning.
Seven overs later, Pujara missed the line to an excellent Mukesh delivery that hit the back leg of the batsman.
With a hint of reverse swing, Mukesh removed Prerak Mankad in his next over.
The scores:
Saurashtra — 1st innings: Harvik Desai c sub b Shahbaz 38, Avi Barot c Saha b Akash 54, Vishvarajsinh Jadeja b Akash 54, Arpit Vasavada st Saha b Shahbaz 106, Sheldon Jackson lbw b Porel 14, Cheteshwar Pujara lbw b Mukesh 66, Chetan Sakariya c Saha b Akash 4, Chirag Jani (batting) 13, Prerak Mankad lbw b Mukesh 0, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (batting) 13; Extras (b-3, lb-10, nb-2, w-7): 22; Total (for eight wkts. in 160 overs): 384.
Fall of wickets: 1-82, 2-113, 3-163, 4-182, 5-206, 6-348, 7-358, 8-364.
Bengal bowling: Porel 26-10-51-1, Mukesh 38-8-83-2, Shahbaz 46-14-103-2, Akash 30-8-77-3, Nandi 17-3-45-0, Majumdar 3-0-12-0.
