UP again, Kaif 038; Co enter final

Sudeep Tyagi kissed the pitch as his teammates rushed towards him for a huddle.

Sudeep Tyagi kissed the pitch as his teammates rushed towards him for a huddle. He had just disturbed the timber of Sitanshu 8216;Fevicol8217; Kotak here at the Motibaug ground, taking Uttar Pradesh into the final of the Ranji Trophy. As Kotak fell for 52, Saurashtra8217;s Ranji final hopes ended short of 48 runs as they folded up for 113, adding only 20 runs to the overnight score of 93/7 in their second essay. Praveen Kumar took the two earlier wickets in the morning.

Tyagi, in his maiden Ranji appearance, played a pivotal role in UP8217;s success this year. Before UP8217;s first match, the 20-year-old had to his credit just two wickets from as many matches in an under-22 tournament. No one thought he would make it to the Ranji squad. And now, after seven matches with 39 wickets in his kitty, the lanky fast bowler is the second highest wicket-taker, one wicket behind Vinay Kumar of Karnataka.

8220;One selector asked us to see him. He was impressive at the nets and we picked him up,8221; said Gyanendra Pandey, UP coach.

And in the first match itself, he justified his inclusion, taking 10 wickets, six in first innings and four in second, against Orissa. And then in the second match against Andhra Pradesh, he took nine wickets to emerge as the unlikely hero of the side. 8220;It was a dream debut,8221; was Tyagi8217;s one-liner.

What probably worked in favour of the Ghaziabad lad is the fact that UP were short of bowlers at the beginning of the season. RP Singh and Kumar were with the Indian team. Saulabh Srivastav had joined ICL. Ashish Winston Zaidi had retired.

8220;Yes, we were short of bowlers. So Tyagi was taken in. We needed someone good to fill the place,8221; said skipper Mohammed Kaif said. And Tyagi made most of the opportunity. 8220;He is a quick learner,8221; said Kaif.

UP bowling coach Zaidi is also impressed with the bowler. 8220;He is very hard working. We want to groom him into very good bowler. His height 6.38221; is his advantage. The match against Bengal was covered live and he touched 139 kmph. He has the potential. His in-swing is also good,8221; said Zaidi.

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In the semi-final against Saurashtra, he and Kumar took eight wickets each, four in each innings, to ensure his side8217;s smooth sailing into the final for the second time in three years.

Saurashtra, too, had some brownie points from the season. 8220;It has been a very good season. The players have started believing in themselves that they can beat anyone. Our target is the next Ranji,8221; said their skipper Jaydev Shah.

But Shah was still rueing the dropped chance of Kaif in the first innings when the UP captain was on 20. Kaif went on to make 80. 8220;Those 60 runs made the difference,8221; said Shah.

Brief scores: Uttar Pradesh: 188 038; 100 vs Saurashtra :127 038; 113 Sitanshu Kotak 52; Praveen Kumar 4/39, Sudeep Tyagi 4/42.