Uttar Pradesh-born left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar wreaked havoc with a six-wicket haul as the Rest of India beat Saurashtra at their homeground in Irani Cup 2023. Saurashtra suffered a massive batting collapse as their top five failed to put up a fight in the run chase of 255. Saurashtra ended up getting bundled out for 75 as Hanuma Vihari-led Rest of India wrapped up the game within three days.Β
Β
Saurabh struck with the second ball he bowled with the wicket of Chirag Jani. A few overs later, Samarth Vyas got bowled as well. Cheteshwar Pujara failed the spin test and became Shams Mulani's first victim of the day. While Harvik Desai went on a blockathon, Sheldon Jackson lost his wicket to Saurabh and Arpit Vasavada got out for a four-ball duck to Mulani. The rest of India lost half their side for just 34 in the 17th over.Β
Desai's resistance came to an end in the 22nd over. Saurabh faced as many as 64 deliveries and scored 13 runs. Prerak Mankad became Pulkit Narag's only scalp of the day. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja top-scored for Saurashtra with 21 off 38 balls. Skipper Jaydev Unadkat remained unbeaten whereas Mulani and Saurabh wrapped up the proceedings. Saurabh took six wickets for 43 runs as Saurashtra got all out for 79 from 34.3 overs.
Earlier, Vihari won the toss and opted to bat first on Day 1. Sai Sudharsan's 72-run knock and contributions in the 30s from several batters helped them post 308 on the board. Parth Bhut was the pick of the bowlers with a fifer for Saurashtra.
Β
In reply, Saurashtra openers failed. Vasavada was the top-scorer with a 54-run knock as Saurashtra got all out for 214 and gave the Rest of India a massive advantage with a 94-run lead. Saurabh took a four-fer in the first innings.
Β
In the third innings, Sudharsan and Mayank Agarwal contributed with scores in the 40s. From 133/2, the Rest of India lost eight wickets for just 27 runs as Bhut took a seven-fer. The rest of India were bowled out for 160 and set a 255-run target.
Β
MORE ON SPORTS TAK
Asian Games 2023: Pooja Hathwala's super show helps India women's kabaddi team bulldoze South Korea
ODI World Cup: Hasan Ali's father-in-law in Haryana can't wait for India vs Pakistan clash to meet his grandchild for the first time
