Bhatt slams a ton

RAJKOT, JAN 11: If the Rajkot Municipal Corporation ground here was to launch a media blitz to woo batsmen, the ideal slogan could be Come...

RAJKOT, JAN 11: If the Rajkot Municipal Corporation ground here was to launch a media blitz to woo batsmen, the ideal slogan could be Come, find your form. As an ideal case study, Prakash Bhatt’s 158 on the second day of the West Zone match could drive home the point.

A cautious and run-deficient Bhatt got admitted to the Reform Centre on Monday, and on Tuesday walked out with loads of confidence. This redemption meant Saurashtra finished their first innings at a robust 437. But Vadodara’s 59 for no loss at close must have shaken them a bit, as now making himself comfortable at the batting retreat was the in-form opener Connor Williams. More than those in flannels, it was the men in black that were responsible for the main action in the opening session.

Bhatt, on 88, dabbed a ball from R Swaroop to Ajit Bohite at forward short leg. The Vadodara team went up in unison claiming the catch. The two umpires after a brief discussion negated the appeal. The Vadodara team claimed the umpires said that theyfailed to see whether the catch was taken cleanly. From the look of things, it seems this small oversight by the umpires could have big impact on the match.

Scoreboard

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Saurashtra (1st innings, overnight 245-3): Vasant Kumar lbw Swaroop 84 (278m, 179b, 14×4); Altaf Merchant lbw Zaheer 23 (54m, 40b, 3×4); Sitanshu Kotak c Bedade b Arothe 42 (186m, 150b, 4×4); Prakash Bhatt c Buch b Bohite 158 (345m, 261b, 22×4, 1×6); Bimal Jadeja lbw Zaheer 22 (101m, 91b, 2×4); Firoz Bambhania c D Mulherkar (substitute) b Buch 8 (27m, 17b, 2×4); Manoj Parmar c Zaheer b Buch 19 (57m, 17b, 3×4); Dharmendra Chudasama c Buch b Swaroop 7 (16m, 23b, 1×4); Niraj Odedra lbw Bohite 24 (102m, 95b, 3×4); Rakesh Dhruv b Bohite 13 (43m, 30b, 1×4); Kamal Chavda not out 8 (21m, 17b, 1×4). Extras: 19 (10nb, 2lb, 7b).
Total (in 158.5 overs & 643 minutes) 437
Fall of wickets: 1-35 (12.2, Merchant); 2-149 (57.5, Kotak); 3-177 (67.2, Vasant); 4-251 (93, Jadeja); 5-271 (99, Bambhania); 6-316 (114.4, Parmar); 7-329(119.5, Chudasama); 8-399 (147.3, Odedra); 9-408 (151.5, Bhatt).
Bowling: Zaheer 29-8-78-2 (4nb); Kadri 16-4-54-0 (1nb); Buch 42-7-109-2; Bohite 27-3-79-3; Swaroop 37-12-86-2 (4nb); Arothe 7-0-22-1 (1nb).

Vadodara (1st innings): Connor Williams batting 29 (93m, 73b, 5×4); R Swaroop batting 27 (93m, 73b, 3×4). Extras: 3 (1-lb, 2-nb).
Total: (For no loss in 24 overs, 93 minutes) 59.
Bowling: Chavda 3-0-17-0; Merchant 2-0-15-0 (2nb); Dhruv 8-3-10-0; Odedra 9-5-13-0; Chudasama 2-1-3-0.

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