Ranji Trophy Final: Saurashtra take firm grip as Unadkat, Sakariya grab two wickets each

Saurashtra took a step closer to their second Ranji Trophy title as Bengal were struggling at 169 for four in their second innings at the close of the game on Day 3, still trailing by 61 runs.While Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary remained unbeaten on 57 and with both Saurashtra left-arm pace bowlers breathing fire, Unadkat's side could well wrap up the game on Sunday.Bengal's pace-heavy attack looked ineffective in the morning as Saurashtra, continuing from where they had left on Friday evening -- 317/5 -- added 87 more runs to take their score past 400.

Though overnight batters Arpit Vasavada (81) and Chirag Jani (60) perished quickly, tail-enders Prerak Mankad (33) and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (29) gave Saurashtra the winning edge. To add to Bengal's woes, they gave away 35 extras.Coming in to bat in the second innings, Bengal had a harrowing start with the pace duo of Sakariya (2/50) and Unadkat (2/47) rattling the top-order to reduce them to 47/3 in the post-lunch session.Still trailing by 183 runs, an innings defeat loomed large when the veteran duo of Anustup Majumdar (61) and Tiwary came together and gave the 1,000-odd fans some hope with their 99-run partnership.At close, Shahbaz Ahmed (13 batting) was giving Tiwary company at the crease.Bengal can only hope for a magical turnaround in quest of their maiden Ranji Trophy title in 32 years.The onus is on Tiwary and Shahbaz, the last recognised batting pair for Bengal, to make an improbable turnaround.Earlier pace bowler Mukesh Kumar emerged the most successful Bengal bowler on Saturday, finishing with figures of 4/111 and getting rid of both well-set overnight batters Vasavada and Jani.Having managed just three wickets on Friday, the much-vaunted Bengal attack wrapped up