Jaydev Unadkat-Chetan Sakariya star as Saurashtra bowl out Bengal for 174 in Ranji Trophy final

Bengal top order to give Saurashtra upper hand on the opening day of the five-day Ranji Trophy title clash in Kolkata on Thursday.Bengal, who lost half of their side at the score of 34 in one hour and 13 minutes, were bundled out for a paltry 174. It would have been more embarrassing for Bengal but spin all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed (69) and wicketkeeper Abhishek Porel (50) saved the hosts from the blushes with gritty half-centuries.The duo showed the way for the top-order in a 101-run stand for the seventh wicket and batted close to four hours to frustrate Saurashtra.Saurashtra were 81 for 2 at stumps on Day 1, trailing Bengal by 93 runs.

Opting to bowl, Unadkat (3/44), returning after being released from the Test side, came up with a terrific opening spell of 5-2-7-2, while Sakariya (3/33) made the Bengal batters danced to his tunes as the hosts were soon reduced to 17 for 4 inside 31 minutes at the iconic Eden Gardens.Saurashtra wrapped up Bengal innings' at 174 with third seamer Chirag Jani (2/33) also making good use of the lively Eden surface and left-arm spinner Dharmendrasingh Jadeja (2/19) scalping two wickets.Saurashtra's in-form opener Harvik Desai (38), who has more than 600 runs this season, was at the crease with night watchman Sakariya (2).The duo survived some late charge by Bengal pace duo of Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar to bring the deficit under 100.With their leading run-getter of the season Aprit Vasavada (826 runs at 75.06) yet to come along with the prolific duo of Sheldon Jackson (529) and Chirag Jani (509), Saurashtra would definitely fancy a first innings lead.Bengal bowlers looked pedestrian at start but Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar took some purchase in the fag end of the day to dismiss Jay Gohil