After realising a long-cherished dream and making history — winning the maiden Plate final and getting elevated to the Elite Group — they are not celebrating yet. Instead, while looking ahead, their common agenda for the moment is: how to tackle the biggies.Nobody in their wildest dream thought that Saurashtra would come thus far. But they have bucked the odds. ‘‘After languishing in the Plate Group ever since the introduction of the format in 2002, it is a momentous occasion and dream come true for us,” says skipper Jaydev Shah. Their route to the final has been quite interesting and dramatic. After winning their first game against Tripura, they lost to Orissa and Vidharba. At that stage they needed nine points — two wins with a bonus point — from two games to qualify for the semi-finals. They did just that — won against Goa with a bonus point and then humbled Himachal for an outright win. In the semi-finals, they overcame favourites Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan in the title clash. Shah credits the transformation to coach Debu Mitra, who joined the team last season. “He made us believe in ourselves. That we can win,” says Shah. “When I took over, they were very raw, lacking professionalism. My first job was to tell them what first class cricket was all about and how to be competitive. I had more class-room sessions than on the field. I had to teach them even the elementary things of cricket,” says Mitra, who also coached Bengal in Ranji Trophy and East Zone in Deodhar Trophy. However, Saurashtra never lacked talent. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindra Jadeja are now playing for India in the U-19 World Cup. “Talent is there but they lacked guidance and practice. Even the number of matches they play and the quality are far below average,” informs Mitra. The coach made improvements in other areas also. “There has been a lot of polishing on the technical front. The transformation of our main strike bowler Sandip Maniar is an apt example. He had a problem with swinging the ball, but now swing is his most potent weapon,” says Shah.Saurashtra will now go to Baroda to play in the Ranji Trophy one-dayers. The team will be further boosted by the return of left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi, son of Dilip Doshi.BRIEF SCORES: Rajasthan: 201 & 173 (A Jadeja 80; Jobanputra 6-77, Dhurv 4-18) lost to Saurashtra 408.
