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RESULT
Final, Eden Gardens, February 16 - 19, 2023, Ranji Trophy
PrevNext
174 & 241
(T:12) 404 & 14/1

Saurashtra won by 9 wickets

Player Of The Match
3/44 & 6/85
jaydev-unadkat
Player Of The Series
907 runs
arpit-vasavada
Report

Majumdar, Tiwary hit fighting fifties for Bengal, but advantage with Saurashtra in Ranji Trophy final

Bengal erase most of Saurashtra's 230-run first-innings lead on day three at Eden Gardens

Shashank Kishore
Shashank Kishore
18-Feb-2023
Manoj Tiwary kept Bengal in the contest with a half-century, Bengal vs Saurashtra, Ranji Trophy 2022-23 final, 3rd day, Kolkata, February 18, 2023

Manoj Tiwary kept Bengal in the contest with a half-century  •  PTI

Stumps Bengal 174 and 169 for 4 (Anustup 61, Tiwary 57*, Unadkat 2-47, Sakariya 2-50) trail Saurashtra 404 (Vasavada 81, Jani 60, Mukesh 4-111, I Porel 3-86) by 61 runs
Shahbaz Ahmed and Manoj Tiwary, the man who faced opposition from certain quarters to include this "outsider" in their main squad four years ago, are faced with an uphill battle of keeping Bengal alive in their Ranji Trophy final at Eden Gardens.
At 169 for 4, having fought through a testing last half hour against fading light and reverse swing from Saurashtra's skilful seam attack, Tiwary and Shahbaz have ensured Bengal live to fight another day. They still trail by 61, with Tiwary unbeaten on 57 and Shahbaz 13.
Bengal would've given an arm and a leg to ensure they didn't lose Anustup Majumdar's wicket with stumps looming, but were scuppered by Jaydev Unadkat yet again during the course of a superb spell late on day three.
Expertly varying angles and lengths to cause just about enough confusion to someone as experienced as Majumdar, he eventually had him reaching out to drive a fullish delivery that was pouched at gully to break a 99-run stand. Majumdar's contrition was a wholesome 61, an innings full of defiance and grit for most parts, after Bengal's top order floundered yet again.
Debutant Sumanta Gupta had a forgettable game, finishing with scores of 1 and 1. Like he was dismissed in the first innings, he was out poking at an away-going Chetan Sakariya delivery that squared him up with Chirag Jani taking an excellent catch moving low to his left at second slip in the second over.
Abhimanyu Easwaran too was out in similar fashion, half-heartedly poking at a delivery that seamed away. Sudip Gharami appeared to have calmed the nerves, focusing on playing straight and playing late for a brief while before Unadkat's excellence had him nicking. In a testing spell prior to his dismissal, Gharami was challenged by deliveries that hit similar lengths and moved both ways.
Gharami played and missed some, but the one that had his name moved away appreciably after pitching and found a thick edge through to the slip cordon. At 47 for 3, Bengal were in serious danger of a total surrender. It needed their veteran captain, Tiwary, to stand tall and blunt the bowling.
Standing outside the crease to negate late movement, Tiwary shelved his typical flair to grind the bowlers even as Majumdar played himself in. As the two began to build a partnership, Saurashtra introduced spin in the form of Dharmendrasinh Jadeja in a bid to try and break the monotony. It was during this period, where both Tiwary and Majumdar cashed in by playing some delicate shots behind square to eat into the deficit slowly, before Saurashtra dealt a body blow with Majumdar's wicket.
That Bengal are still in with a chance, however slim, is because their bowlers had a much better outing on Saturday. It all began with Mukesh Kumar removing overnight batter Arpit Vasavada with an away-going delivery off the fifth ball for 81. In a relentless first spell where he made the ball talk, he had Jani next with a delivery that left him late to kiss the edge for 60.
While Mukesh probed away, Akash Deep couldn't maintain pressure at the other end. Three cracking deliveries would invariably be followed by leg-stump half-volleys in search of late swing. The beneficiary of this was mostly Prerak Mankad, who picked off boundaries from time to time to make 33 before being the ninth man out. At 369 for 9, Bengal could've closed out the innings a lot sooner, but eventually ended up conceding 404 as the last-wicket pair of Parth Bhuth and Jadeja frustrated Bengal.
What would encourage Saurashtra was signs of variable bounce that the surface offered in the final session of play. Also, over the first three days, the fast bowlers have particularly enjoyed bowling in the opening session with early morning moisture playing to their advantage. If Saurashtra can maximise this early on the fourth day, like they did on the opening morning, they will go a long way in marching towards their second Ranji trophy crown.

Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

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Ranji Trophy

Elite, Group A
TeamMWLDPTQuotient
BENG7412321.573
UKHND7304291.365
HP7214211.459
BRODA7214211.324
ODSA7124140.846
UP7124130.980
HRYNA7124130.855
NAGA705220.297
Elite, Group B
TeamMWLDPTQuotient
SAU7322261.277
AP7421261.119
MAHA7304261.345
MUM7322241.533
TN7214211.225
DELHI7223170.902
ASSAM7133110.546
HYD706110.523
Elite, Group C
TeamMWLDPTQuotient
KNTKA7403351.763
JHK7322231.102
KER7313210.992
RAJ7223201.118
CGR7340190.958
GOA7223180.906
SVCS7241130.753
PONDI715190.763
Elite, Group D
TeamMWLDPTQuotient
MP7511331.414
PNJB7304271.605
RLYS7322221.123
VIDAR7322201.197
GUJ7241140.899
TPURA7025110.760
J + K714280.768
CHD702570.490
Plate Group
TeamMWLDPTQuotient
MEGHA5410251.421
SIKM5311201.401
MNPR5311201.253
BIHAR5113141.258
MIZO513180.921
ARP505000.353