With an unbeaten 316-run partnership, Wriddhiman Saha (203*) and Cheteshwar Pujara (116*) helped Rest of India to a six-wicket win against Gujarat in the Irani Cup. Coming together at 63 for four the pair forged a solid partnership to chase down the 379-run target for the title.
With 113 runs needed on the final day of the game, ROI captain, Pujara resumed the innings on 266 for four with Saha. Continuing from where he had left on the fourth day, the wicketkeeper-batsman plundered runs off the Gujarat bowlers to close in on the target. The skipper too upped the ante and reached his century earlier in the day.
While Pujara reached the three-figure mark by dispatching Ishwar Chaudhary past point, Saha who was batting at a brisk pace inched towards his double-ton. With the landmark in sight the pair ran hard between the wickets. With a six off Hardik Patel, Saha entered the 190s and also took the partnership to the 300-run mark. He continued to attack with gusto. The middle-order bat brought up his 200 with a boundary off Karan Patel and in the next over, the captain struck Hardik to the long-off boundary to claim victory.
The duo’s match-winning partnership is the highest fifth-wicket stand in the Irani Cup.
Brief scores:
Day 1: Gujarat 1st inn 300/8 in 88 overs (C Gandhi 136*, M Juneja 47, S Kaul 4/73, P Singh 3/77)
Day 2: Gujarat 1st inn 358/10 in 102.5 overs (C Gandhi 169, H Patel 18*, S Kaul 5/86, P Singh 4/104); ROI 1st inn 206/9 in 72 overs (C Pujara 86, A Herwadkar 48, C Gaja 3/46, H patel 3/73, M Thadani 2/48) Trail by 152 runs
Day 3: ROI 1st inn 226/10 in 75 overs (Md Siraj 26, C Gaja 4/60); Gujarat 2nd inn 227/8in 79 overs (P Panchal 73, C Gandhi 55*, S Nadeem 4/53, Md Siraj 3/39) Lead by 359 runs
Day 4: Gujarat 2nd inn 246/10 in 90.3 overs (C Gandhi 70, S Kaul 3/70); ROI 2nd inn 266/4 in 84 overs (W Saha 123*, C Pujara 83*, H Patel 2/59) Need 113 runs to win
Day 5: ROI 2nd inn 379/4 in 103.1 overs (W Saha 203*, C Pujara 116*) Win by 6 wickets
