Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat wreaked havoc with the new ball against Arunachal Pradesh at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on October 23. Unadkat not only picked up a four-fer with the new ball but kept a lid on runs.
Unadkat won the toss and opted to bowl first. Wicketkeeper-batter Ayush Awasthi started off with a boundary and then lost his wicket the next ball. In his next over, Unadkat got rid of the other opener Techi Neri. In the same over Aprameya Jaiswal got out for a two-ball duck. He took another wicket off the last ball of the third over to send Aryan Shahani packing for a seven-ball duck.
After quiet powerplay overs, Arunachal Pradesh lost their captain Neelam Obi. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja got the wicket of Obi who scored just one run from 14 balls. In his next over, Divyanshu Yadav got bowled by Jadeja. Arunachal Pradesh were reduced to 13/6 in the ninth over.
Techi Doria and Licha John shared a partnership to prevent Arunachal Pradesh from getting bowled out. They shared a 45-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Aditya Jadeja broke the partnership in the penultimate over. John scored 22 runs from 33 balls including two fours. On the last ball of the innings, Nabam Joshi got run out. Doria remained unbeaten for 27 off 40 balls including a four and a six. Arunachal Pradesh posted 66/8.
Saurashtra openers Tarang Gohel and Harvik Desai made short work of the run chase. Desai got to play just five balls from which he scored 18 runs including one four and two sixes. Gohel, on the other hand, went berserk. He smashed five fours and four sixes in his unbeaten 17-ball 51. Saurashtra chased down the target of 69 in just 3.3 overs.
The 10-wicket loss was Arunachal Pradesh's fifth in a row. Saurashtra boosted their net run rate (NRR) with third win from five games. They are currently placed third in the Group C points table. Saurashtra will take on Andhra Pradesh in their next clash at the same venue on October 25 whereas Arunachal Pradesh will lock horns with Manipur.
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