Following the loss to Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy final at home, Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary said that his side had made some mistakes due to which they lost the game and they will try to rectify them. Saurashtra defeated Bengal by nine wickets to lift the Ranji Trophy title for the second time here at the Eden Gardens on Sunday.
“We have made some mistakes due to which we are in this situation today, we will try to improve by focusing on our mistakes. This is just a game, sometimes there is success, sometimes there is disappointment,” Tiwary told ANI following the match on Sunday. Bengal once again failed to win the title that it had last captured in the 1989-90 season. Since then, it has finished as the runners-up five times.
Put to bat first by Saurashtra, Bengal was bundled out for 174 in their first innings. Shahbaz Ahmed (69) and Abishek Porel (50) managed half-centuries to guide their team to three figures after it was reduced to 65/6. Chetan Sakariya (3/33) and Unadkat (3/44) were the standout bowlers for Saurashtra. Saurashtra took a 230-run lead in the first innings after making 404 runs. Arpit Vasavada (81), Chirag Jani (60), Sheldon Jackson (59) and Harvik Desai (50) scored valuable fifties. Mukesh Kumar (4/111) was the pick of the bowlers for Bengal. Akash Deep and Ishan Porel also took three wickets.
Bengal was bundled out for just 241 in their second innings, thanks to a brilliant spell from skipper Unadkat (6/85). Sakariya also took three wickets. However, skipper Manoj Tiwary (68) and Anustup Majumdar (61) scored valiant fifties. The home side gave a 12-run target to the visitors, which was chased down. Arpit Vasavada was adjudged the Player of the Series for his consistent run this Ranji season. In 10 matches and 15 innings, he scored 907 runs at an average of 75.58. He also managed to score three centuries and three half-centuries, with the best individual score of 202. Unadkat received the Man of the Match award for his nine wickets.
