Jaydev Unadkat’s Saurashtra will try to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy when he faces Andhra Pradesh in the sixth round from Tuesday at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.
In his 13th year in senior cricket, his Unadkat will have a special moment as he made his 100th first-class appearance at home.
With three wins and two draws, he has 26 points and Saurashtra, who sits at the top of the Elite Group B standings, has emerged as the team to beat in a group where heavyweights struggle with erratic form. I’m here.
After two tough draws, Saurashtra, lacking regular skippers his Unadkat and his Cheteshwar Pujara, earned a morale-boosting victory over his second-placed Mumbai in late December.
Unadkat’s return to the side after his notable call-up in the India Test gave Saurashtra a sizable margin – scoring back-to-back innings wins of 14 points. The left-handed sailor scored a first-over hat-trick before rocking last week’s shaky six-wicket Hyderabad to keep his best first-class bowling tally (8/39) against Delhi.
Saurashtra’s victory hinges more on her overall success than on the top contenders to dominate the charts. However, as Borderer’s Gavaskar his test looms, the focus will be on India’s batting mainstay Pujara after he finished as low as 25 in the previous rounds.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh (14 points) is his fourth in a group that includes Mumbai and Maharashtra, making him his second KO spot alongside Saurashtra.
Andhra’s focus could shift to preserving his lead against bottom-placed Delhi and Hyderabad to avoid relegation to his group on the plate next season. After a disappointing draw against Delhi, Hanuma Vihari’s men will also miss the services of wicket keeper KS Barat, who was called up to the Indian squad for New Zealand’s ODI.
Saurashtra spinner Dharmendra Singh Jadeja and off-spinner Yuvraj Singh Dodiya will also test Andorra as the game progresses where massive first innings totals are the norm.
Squads:
Saurashtra – Jaydev Unadkat (C), Cheteshwar Pujara, Sheldon Jackson, Harvik Desai, Arpit Vasavada, Chirag Jani, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, Prerak Mankad, Samarth Vyas, Yuvrajsinh Dodiya, Chetan Sakariya, Parth Bhut, Jay Gohil, Navneet Vora, Devang Karamta, Snell Patel.
Andhra Pradesh – Hanuma Vihari (C), Ricky Bhui, Shaik Rasheed, Ashwin Hebbar, Karan Shinde, KV Sasikanth, Shoaib Khan, Manish, Abhishek Reddy, Lalith Mohan, Tapaswi, Prithvi Raj, Vamsikrishna, Gnaneshwar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ums Girinath, Ashish, Karthik Raman, Sudharsan