When Gujarat skipper Chintan Gaja called correctly at the coin toss against Saurashtra on Saturday morning, he told the official broadcaster that the rationale behind opting to bowl was to exploit the even covering of grass adorning the surface.
Three sessions and eight hours later, as day one of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal between these two teams at the Niranjan Shah Stadium drew to a close, Gaja couldn’t have been happier with his bowling unit’s execution. The 30-year-old is worthy of a pat on his own back, for he led the way with figures of 21-9-48-4 to bundle out Saurashtra for 216 in 72.1 overs. In the five overs that Gujarat batted before stumps were called, Priyank Panchal and Aarya Desai took the visitor to 21 for 0.
Though Gaja yielded maximum success, it was a collective effort that helped Gujarat seize the opening day’s play. For the home team, Chirag Jani battled hard and contributed 69, helped by a couple of reprieves that could still prove decisive in shaping the final outcome.
AS IT HAPPENED | RANJI TROPHY 2024-25 QUARTERFINALS DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS
On a deck that had an uncharacteristic tinge of green, Saurashtra was actually off to a good start in the morning session with Jani and Harvik Desai ensuring a wicketless opening hour. The ball did go past the outside edge a few times, but whenever there was a loose ball to be dispatched, it was.
Just when it seemed that desperation could creep in among the Gujarat bowlers, left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla got one to hold its line in the 16th over and take Harvik’s outside edge. A few overs passed by quietly before Cheteshwar Pujara was undone by Siddharth Desai. Where the usually reliable No. 3 erred was in playing against the turn, which led to a leading edge lobbing to Manan Hingrajia at cover.
Gujarat went from strength to strength in the period between lunch and tea, scalping four wickets and conceding just 36 runs in 24 overs. Gaja prised out the key scalp of Jani, while Desai added another to his tally by trapping Sheldon Jackson in front of the stumps. Left-armer Jaymeet Patel chipped in with crucial wickets as well.
“The pitch had a lot of grass. So, it was difficult to bat on. We did very well in the first session, but there was a collapse after that. We got 216, which is perhaps around 50 runs short. But there is still help for the bowlers. We can strike on the morning of day two with the new ball. We will look to hit the right areas and put their batters under pressure,” Jani said at the end of the day.