Pujara unwell, all’s well for Bengal

Rajkot, March 9

Young pacer Akash Deep took three wickets as Bengal kept Saurashtra in check with 206/5 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy final.

The home team is also fretting over Cheteshwar Pujara’s health as the Test batsman looked under the weather before retiring hurt. Akash Deep, 23, returned the day’s best figures of 3/41 while pace spearhead Ishan Porel (1/37) and left-arm spinner Shahbaz Ahmed (1/56) picked up one wicket each. Mukesh Kumar, who was the hero of Bengal’s semifinal win over Karnataka at the Eden Gardens, remained wicketless.

For Saurashtra, Avi Barot (54) and Vishvaraj Jadeja (54) struck half-centuries. Arpit Vasavada remained unbeaten on 29 with Chetan Sakariya getting dismissed off the final ball of the day.

The biggest cause of concern for the home side was Pujara walking off to the dressing room after feeling unwell late in the third session. Pujara pushed himself down to No. 6 from his usual No. 3 position after Saurashtra elected to bat first. The Jaydev Unadkat-led side were 182/4 when Pujara walked out to bat and was looking solid on five from 24 balls. But as the game progressed, the 32-year-old looked uneasy, eventually failing to continue. Pujara walked back to the dressing room looking dazed. “He has fever and bad throat but should be fine to bat tomorrow,” said Saurashtra skipper Unadkat.

It was a blow for the home team who were struggling after the in-form Bengal pacers came back to take four wickets in the second and third sessions to blunt Saurashtra’s good start.

Good start

The opening pair of Harvik Desai (38) and Barot shared an 82-run stand before Ahmed had Desai caught at silly point by substitute Abhishek Raman. Barot followed suit soon after with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha taking a catch off Akash Deep. Vishvaraj and Vasavada looked good for a long partnership, but Akash Deep came up with a beauty to rattle the former’s stumps. In-form Sheldon Jackson (14) was trapped in front by Porel as Saurashtra suddenly found themselves in a spot. Pujara and Vasavada also looked good, but once Pujara left the field, it was downhill for the hosts who lost Sakariya (4) off the final ball of the day. — Agencies

Brief scores: Saurashtra: 206/5 (Avi Barot 54, Vishvaraj Jadeja 54, Arpit Vasavada 29*; Akash Deep 3/41) vs Bengal