On the eve of the Ranji Trophy final, Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary told this newspaper that he wanted a spicy pitch with pace and bounce as Saurashtra’s batsmen thrived on “low and slow” surfaces. Tiwary got exactly what he wanted but the surface proved a double-edged sword, and it was the visitors who made better use of the conditions. They operated on a probing line that teased the batsmen’s off-stump as their bowlers called the shots on Day 1 at Eden Gardens on Thursday. Jaydev Unadkat won the toss and opted to bowl on a green-top. The Saurashtra skipper (3/44) and Chetan Sakariya (3/33) made the new ball talk and left the hosts reeling at 17/4 inside five overs. Unadkat set the tone in the very first over. With three slips, a gully and short leg, India A regular Abhimanyu Easwaran (0) was undone by an inswinger, as Jay Gohil took the catch close in. It's Stumps on Day 1️⃣ of the @mastercardindia #RanjiTrophy #Final! Saurashtra move to 81/2 after restricting Bengal to 174 in the first innings 👍👍 #BENvSAU Watch how the action unfolded on the opening Day 🎥 🔽 pic.twitter.com/VV2FxSzW3c — BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 16, 2023 In the next over, Sakariya bowled a jaffa, which squared up debutant Sumanta Gupta (1) and the edge carried to Sheldon Jackson at first slip. A couple of balls later, Sakariya bowled a sharp inswinger, to which Sudip Gharami (0) offered no shot. The off-stump was sent cartwheeling. Tiwary (7) looked tentative during his stay. Unadkat got past his outside edge twice from over the wicket and then switched to round, and Tiwary pushed at it away from the body, the outside edge carrying to Vishvaraj Jadeja at gully. The Bengal team had fallen into its own trap. The top order lacked application against the moving ball. All eyes were now on veteran crisis man Anustup Majumdar, Bengal’s leading run-getter this season, to salvage the innings. But he lost patience and was undone by the extra bounce extracted by Saurashtra’s third seamer Chiraj Jani as Bengal had lost half the side by the first drinks break. Some resistance Shahbaz Ahmed (69) built a 33-run stand with rookie pace-bowling all-rounder Akash Ghatak (17), who had replaced Pradipta Pramanik in the playing XI. Ghatak was done in by a sharp bouncer from Sakariya as the batsman played a weak pull shot, and Unadkat took an easy catch at mid-wicket. At 65/6, Bengal were staring down the barrel before Shahbaz and Abhishek Porel (50) added 101 runs for the seventh wicket in close to four hours. Unadkat introduced Dharmendrasingh Jadeja (2/19) into the attack and the left-arm spinner ended Shahbaz’s resistance, and also got Akash Deep in his next over. Chirag Jani then dismissed Porel. Unadkat then brought himself into the attack and reached 300 Ranji Trophy wickets with an easy caught- and-bowled dismissal of Mukesh Kumar. In reply, Saurashtra’s openers hardly looked troubled with the Bengal pacers dishing out short and wide stuff. Akash Deep, Bengal’s leading wicket-taker this season, started with a no-ball and was taken out of the attack after two overs. Mukesh Kumar, known for his line and length, looked pedestrian and was hit for a six and a four by Harvik Desai. Akash Deep, however, returned to clean up Gohil (6). Saurashtra No. 3 Vishvaraj Singh Jadeja (25) looked in ominous touch, hitting three boundaries in Porel’s first over. However, in the dying minutes of the first day, Mukesh got his off-stump line back and dismissed Jadeja. However, conceding 12 fours and a six in 17 overs has already set them back in the contest. Scorecard Saurashtra 1st innings: Sumanta Gupta c Jackson b Sakariya 1, Abhimanyu Easwaran, c Jay Gohil b Unadkat, Sudip Kumar Gharami b Sakariya 0, Anustup Majumdar c Desai b Jani 16, Manoj Tiwary (c) c VM Jadeja b Unadkat 7, Akash Ghatak c Unadkat b Sakariya 17, Shahbaz Ahmed c VM Jadeja b DA Jadeja 69, Abishek Porel c Mankad b Jani 50, Akash Deep c Unadkat b DA Jadeja 4, Mukesh Kumar c & b Unadkat 1, Ishan Porel not out 0; Extras: 9 (lb 7, nb 2); Total: 174 all out in 54.1 overs FOW: 1-1 (Easwaran, 0.5 ov), 2-1 (Gupta, 1.2 ov), 3-2 (Gharami, 1.4 ov), 4-17 (Tiwary, 4.5 ov), 5-34 (Anustup, 12.6 ov), 6-65 (Ghatak, 21.4 ov), 7-166 (Shahbaz, 50.6 ov), 8-172 (Akash Deep, 52.2 ov), 9-174 (Abishek Porel, 53.5 ov), 10-174 (Mukesh, 54.1 ov) Bowling: Jaydev Unadkat 13.1-3-44- 3, Chetan Sakariya 13-4-33-3, Chirag Jani 11-2-33-2, Prerak Mankad 11-4-38-0, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 6-1-19-2 Saurashtra 1st Innings: Harvik Desai batting 38, Jay Gohil b Akash Deep 6, Vishvaraj Jadeja c Abishek Porel b Mukesh Kumar 25, Chetan Sakariya batting 2; Extras: 10 (b 5, lb 1, nb 4) Total: 81/2 in 17 overs FOW: 1-38 (Gohil, 6.1 ov), 2-73 (Vishvaraj, 15.2 ov) Bowling: Mukesh Kumar 6-1-23-1, Akash Deep 8-1-28-1, Akash Ghatak 1-0-10-0, Ishan Porel 1-0-12-0, Shahbaz Ahmed 1-0-2-0
