They waited for more than seven decades to reach the Ranji Trophy final. But their dreams came crashing against the mighty Mumbai which handed them an innings defeat at historic Wankhede Stadium on the third day of final on Monday.
The hosts, led by Ajit Agarkar, had a star studded team which comprised batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Jaffer and Dhawal Kulkarni to wrap up the match inside three days.
“We were outplayed in all departments. Toss was crucial. But in any case it was a learning experience. We have lot of positives. We made a few mistakes and will ensure that they are not repeated again,” said Jaydev Shah, captain of Saurashtra team.
Saurashtra, in their first innings, were bowled out for a paltry 148 before Mumbai posted 355 to take an unassailable 207 runs lead. Shah and Co was torn apart in the second innings as Agarkar and Kulkarni wreaked havoc with their swing which proved too much for Saurashtra’s batsmen. They were bundled out for 82, resulting into an innings and 125-run defeat.
All through their journey to the Ranji final, Saurashtra were riding on the back of a consistent team effort. Adding to that, performers like Ravindra Jadeja and Cheteshwar Pujara in the league phase played crucial roles in team’s progress in the tournament. Their absence was clearly felt by Saurashtra while facing a giant in form of Mumbai. Both Jadeja and Pujara were busy with national team for the ODI series against England. Ironically, while Jadeja played against England, Pujara was just warming up the benches and was reduced to a drinks man.
