The first session of the penultimate day was good enough for Saurashtra to crush Bengal’s hopes and secure the Ranji Trophy title for the second time in three years with a nine-wicket victory at Eden Gardens.
For Bengal, the onus was on overnight batsmen Manoj Tiwary and Shahbaz Ahmed to bat for long. The duo did begin steadily on Sunday, but miscommunication between skipper Tiwary and Shahbaz while going for the third run resulted in the latter’s run-out dismissal.
Shahbaz’s departure at a time when the ball wasn’t doing much certainly had an effect on Tiwary, who perished playing a loose stroke for the second time in the game off his counterpart Jaydev Unadkat (6/85). Tiwary later admitted the “mistake” from his side when he suddenly paused mid-pitch and started running backwards, with Shahbaz also close to the striker’s end going for the third run. “That (Shahbaz’s run-out dismissal) did have a bit of a psychological effect on me,” Tiwary agreed.
The quick dismissals of Shahbaz and Tiwary, followed by a reckless stroke from wicketkeeper-batter Abishek Porel soon after, had more or less confirmed Saurashtra’s victory as well as an early finish. From 194/4, Bengal collapsed to 241 in their second essay.
Saurashtra then took just 2.4 overs to overhaul the 12-run target, wrapping things up before lunch on Day IV, making it a completely one-sided final.
What went wrong
Looking back, one can only applaud the calmness in the Saurashtra camp ahead of the final which skipper Unadkat, adjudged Man of the Match for his nine wickets in the final, also emphasised. Bengal, on the other hand, seemed to have got carried away since they could play at home.
Overconfidence aside, Bengal also erred in terms of team selection as including Sumanta Gupta as opener despite the availability of Karan Lal and Kazi Junaid Saifi, and playing seamer all-rounder Akash Ghatak in place of the in-form spinner Pradipta Pramanik backfired badly.
Gupta, who doesn’t even open for Barisha SC in club cricket, scored 1 in each innings, while Ghatak — the fourth seamer in pace-friendly conditions — couldn’t be given more than seven overs to bowl. With the bat, Ghatak contributed only 17 and 4.
“Selection should be based on the team’s requirements, not on personal choices,” a Bengal squad member, who didn’t wish to be named, remarked.
“We wanted to give opportunities to these players (Gupta and Ghatak), but they couldn’t make use of it,” Tiwary, still undecided on his first-class future, reasoned.
