Rest make history

Chasing a target of 618,Rajasthan were always fighting a losing battle. They had already conceded a 263-run first innings lead and it only got worse when Parthiv Patel decided against enforcing the follow on and the Rest of India openers Shikar Dhawan and Abhinav Mukund hit centuries that allowed their side to hit 354 in just 54 overs.

Going into the last day,Rest of India had one hand on the trophy.

Shaky start

Rajasthans hopes of batting out the final day didnt materialise as they folded up for 213 in 73.2 overs. The defending champions started the day on 28 for no loss. They began shakily when Aakash Chopra edged R Vinay Kumar but the ball fell short of slip. Vineet Saxena too played a similar shot but it went to the boundary. The early jitters experienced by the Rajasthan openers meant that they went into a shell. They played out five maiden overs but it only added to the pressure.

The openers didnt last long. Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha induced an outside edge from Chopra when the opener tried to play an inside-out shot. Rajasthan skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar shortly followed Chopra back to the pavilion.Medium pacer Umesh Yadavs delivery that was angled across rapped the Rajasthan skipper on the gloves and wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel took the catch.

Wickets fell once again in a bunch when Saxena and Robin Bist fell with the total reading 73.

Saxena looked uncomfortable while facing a barrage of short balls from Kumar. The medium-pacer was rewarded for his hard work when he got a ball to cut back sharply to dislodge Saxenas leg-stump.

Ojha finishes with nine

Bist fell to a delivery that was tossed up by Ojha,who made full use of the rough on and around the off-stump on a Day Five wicket. Ojha picked up four wickets in all to take his match tally to nine,but it was run-machine Shikar Dhawan,the first batsman to score back-to-back centuries in an Irani Cup game,who won the match-of-the-match award. Ojha used flight and turn to also account for middle-order batsman Rashmi Parida and tail-ender Sumit Mathur.

Madhur Khatri tried to delay the inevitable with a quick-fire half-century that contained nine fours but it did little to change the fact that the defending champions were completely outplayed. Life in the Elite Division of the Ranji Trophy will be difficult and challenging if Rajasthan continue to perform in this fashion.

The lack of bite in their bowling will worry Kanitkar at the start of this season. Deepak Chahar had picked up eight wickets to bowl out Hyderabad for just 21 in the on the first morning of action of last season but he has looked rather ordinary on this wicket.

Three of the Rest of India batsmen were largely responsible for Rajasthans misery. Of the 1,630 runs scored in the game Shikhar Dhawan,Abhinav Mukund and Ajinkya Rahane accounted for 669 of them.

Scorecard

Rest of India 1st Innings: 663 all out;

Rajasthan 1st Innings: 400 all out;

Rest of India 2nd Innings: 354 for two declared; Rajasthan 2nd innings target: 618 runs: A Chopra 26,V Saxena 17,H Kanitkar 1,R Bist 18,R Parida 37,A Menaria 21,R Jhalani 0,M Khatri 53,D Chahar 5,S Mathur 8,A Choudhary not out 3; Extras b 17,lb 4,w 2,nb 1 24; Total all out; 73.2 overs 213;

Fall of Wickets: 1-48 Chopra,19.4 ov,2-49 Kanitkar,22.3 ov,3-73 Saxena,28.4 ov,4-73 Bist,29.4 ov,5-125 Menaria,42.5 ov,6-126 Jhalani,43.5 ov,7-163 Parida,59.1 ov,8-186 Chahar,66.4 ov,9-209 Khatri,72.3 ov,10-213 Mathur,73.2 ov; Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 13-3-25-1 1nb,V Aaron 16-7-44-1 1w,P Ojha 22.2-6-60-4,U Yadav 8-5-14-2 1w,R Sharma 14-3-49-2