Pujara powers Saurashtra to third Ranji final
Bengaluru, January 28
Cheteshwar Pujara’s unbeaten 131 powered Saurashtra to their third Ranji Trophy final after they earned a five-wicket win against Karnataka in their semifinal at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Chasing 279, Pujara anchored Saurashtra’s innings with the assistance of Sheldon Jackson, who struck a defiant 100 after the visitors found themselves tottering at a precarious 23/3 on Day 4.
Needing another 55 runs with seven wickets in hand on the fifth day, Pujara and Jackson carried on from where they left on Sunday as the fourth wicket stand flourished to 214 runs, with Jackson also reaching the three figure-mark.Karnataka pacer Vinay Kumar broke through Jackson’s defences, raising hopes for the home side. Ronit More dented Saurashtra further with the wicket of Aarpit Vasavada (12) who hung around for 37-run fifth-wicket stand with Pujara. Prerak Mankad (4*) hit the winning run with a single off More before celebrating the win by hugging Pujara.
Saurashtra now face defending champions Vidarbha in the summit clash at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.Brief Scores: Karnataka: 275 and 239; Saurashtra: 236 and 279/5 (Cheteshwar Pujara 131*, Sheldon Jackson 100; Vinay Kumar 3/75)
No one wants to win more than Pujara: Unadkat
Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat said Pujara’s contributions have extended far beyond just the runs he’s scored. “Can’t really have anyone better than him to have that influence,” Unadkat said. “The way he approached this game, or even the last game, he wants it more than any one of us. That’s one thing I really love about him. Doesn’t really matter what game, what level he’s playing, he just wants to be out there and win it for the team. It’s really showing at the moment how determined he is to win it for Saurashtra. The guys have been really fortunate to have him in the side. He has been guiding the batsmen in the UP game as well, that was one game where we got the confidence and it reflected in this game,” he added.
Pujara was ruled not out by the on-field umpire despite a clear edge when he was on 32 but Unadkat felt there had been a few debatable decisions through the match, going against both the teams.
He also felt Karnataka had let the controversial decisions affect them. “I’d just say that the umpiring has been neutral for sure… Karnataka thought it was out, we thought it was not out. There were a couple of other decisions as well, which went against us, and we didn’t really take it in our mind, which I think they did,” he added. — Agencies
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