Mumbai, 19/2: Saurashtra thrashed Bengal by nine wickets at the Eden Gardens on Sunday to lift their second Ranji Trophy in three seasons. Leading from the front, skipper and left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat took 6/85 and effected the run out of Shahbaz Ahmed that triggered a batting collapse as Bengal lost their last six wickets for 48 runs.
Four of the six wickets were bagged by Unadkat, who dismissed counterpart Manoj Tiwary before cleaning up the lower order with precision. Saurashtra took 2.4 overs to chase down a 12-run target.
Hosts Bengal were always playing catch up after being reduced to 65/6 on the first day at the Eden Gardens. Giving hope against hope was the stand between Tiwary and Ahmed as Bengal started the day looking to wipe out the 61-run deficit. In the sixth over of the day though Tiwary had a brain fade, calling for a risky single and aborting it midway. If that wasn’t enough, Tiwary’s dismissal chasing a wide delivery from Unadkat to gully knocked the wind out of Bengal’s sails. Abhishek Porel fell four balls later and the writing was on the wall. Bengal would have suffered the ignominy of an innings defeat but for a 22-run cameo from No 10 Ishan Porel.