The dominance of Saurashtra's bowlers could be gauged from the fact that Himachal lost their first seven wickets for just 22 runs.
Riding on Samson's record-breaking unbeaten 212 off just 129 balls, Kerala posted a mammoth 377/3 on the board and restricted Goa to 153/3 after play was called off due to inclement weather.
'At the end of the day, we also had to look at players who will figure in the playing XI.'
A summary of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Fresh from his exploits in Mumbai's maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 triumph, Kotian got down to business after his pace colleagues Tushar Desphande (2/23) and Mohit Avasthi (1/29) handed Bengal early blows.
Comeback man Dhawal Kulkarni wreaked havoc with the new ball to hand Mumbai the initial edge in their quest for 41st Ranji Trophy title by reducing Saurashtra to 192 for eight in the first innings on the opening day of the summit clash, in Pune on Wednesday. Back in the side after missing the semifinal due to a groin strain, Kulkarni utilised the green track on offer to perfection after Mumbai skipper Aditya Tare won the toss and invited Saurashtra to bat. -Scorecard Kulkarni was spot on with his line and length, and managed to cut through Saurashtra top-order with figures of four for 30, which included the important wickets of opener Avi Barot, Cheteshwar Pujara, Arpit Vasavada and skipper Jaydev Shah. Kulkarni was ably supported by his new ball partner Shardul Thakur (2/59), Abhishek Nayar (1/42) and Balwinder Sandhu (1/41). Kulkarni, in particular, produced an impressive opening spell as Mumbai reduced Saurashtra to 108 for seven at one stage. Had it not been for Arpit Vasavada and debutant Prerak Mankad, it could have been an embarrassing scorecard for Saurashtra at the end of day's play during which they played 84.4 overs.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Arpit Vasavada gave a masterclass in defensive batting with a five-hour partnership on day two, taking Saurashtra to a strong position on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, in Rajkot, on Tuesday. Pujara (66 off 237), who was on five when he retired hurt on day one due to fever, and Vasavada (106 off 287) batted for two sessions and five overs as the hosts reached 384 for eight at the close of play.
Shreyas Iyer scored a fine century to enable Mumbai take the first innings lead against Saurashtra on the second day of the five-day Ranji Trophy final, in Pune, on Thursday. The 21-year-old, who registered his sixth first-class century while scoring 117 off 142 balls, that included 15 boundaries and two sixes, singlehandedly guided Mumbai to 262 for 8 off 66 overs, in reply to Saurashtra's 235 all out.
A summary of Friday's action in Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Rishi Dhawan led from the front with an all-round show as Himachal Pradesh beat Services by 77 runs in the semi-final, at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Friday, to set up the title clash against Tamil Nadu in the Vijay Hazare Trophy domestic One-Day championship.
Saurashtra, led by the inspirational Jaydev Unadkat, will back themselves to win an elusive Ranji Trophy title at home but a buoyant Bengal will be no pushovers in what promises to be an absorbing final beginning, in Rajkot, on Monday. Both the teams are desperate to go all the way with Saurashtra reaching their fourth final in eight seasons while Bengal has not tasted success in the premier domestic event since the 1989-90 triumph.
Uttar Pradesh comfortably beat Delhi by 46 runs to reach Hazare semi-final.
Saurashtra batsmen survived nasty body blows from Umesh Yadav during their gallant fight against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy final, which is now on even keel after third day.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Sunday
Cheteshwar Pujara missed out on a second successive double hundred but his 182 went a long way in Saurashtra piling up a mammoth 570 in their first innings against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy.
Bengal's Anustup Majumdar stood between Saurashtra and Ranji Trophy with a defiant unbeaten 58 as the summit clash entered a tantalising fifth and final day in Rajkot on Thursday with the visitors needing 72 runs more to clinch the domestic title. Bengal ended the fourth day at 354 for six as Majumdar added 91 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket stand with Arnab Nandi (28 not out), who showed a lot of courage despite getting hit on the finger by Jaydev Unadkat.
Shreyas Iyer's blazing form will be some sort of an assurance for his franchise Delhi Daredevils as his quickfire unbeaten 79 off 49 balls helped Mumbai beat Ranji Trophy champions Gujarat by 5 wickets in a West Zone leg game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in Vadodara, on Monday.
It proved to be a good toss to lose for Saurashtra, who succeeded in removing the most impactful Vidarbha batsmen -- Jaffer (23) and captain Faiz Fazal (16) -- cheaply.
So far among the Indian batsmen, only one player had more first-class hundreds before the age of 18 -- batting legend Sachin Tendulkar who had seven three figure scores.
Skipper Ishant Sharma shone with the ball with three wickets while debutant Kulwant Khejroliya impressed with his pace as Delhi restricted Assam to 224 for seven at stumps on the first day of their Ranji Trophy Group A match.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni hit couple of towering sixes in his 43 but once again failed as a finisher with Karnataka pipping Jharkhand by five runs in a group D league encounter of the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Umesh Yadav starred with a match haul of 12/79 as defending champion Vidarbha routed Kerala by an innings and 11 runs shortly after lunch on Day 2 to storm into the Ranji Trophy final for the second year in a row.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday
Punjab seamer Siddarth Kaul returned with an impressive six-wicket haul to dismiss Delhi for 107 in their first innings on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy Group B match.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar took six wickets to help Bengal beat Karnataka by 174 runs and enter the final of the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 13 years, in Kolkata, on Tuesday. Chasing 352 for victory, Karnataka were bowled out for 177 in their second innings with Mukesh taking 6-61 in 21 overs, while Ishan Porel and Akash Deep took two wickets each.
Mohammed Azharuddeen slammed a 37-ball century to power Kerala to an emphatic eight-wicket victory against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 match at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
A round-up of all the Ranji Trophy matches played on Thursday.
Mumbai trounced Himachal Pradesh by 200 runs in their final Elite Group D game to remain unbeaten in the league stage
With spinners extracting significant turn and bounce exploiting the roughs, Sarwate (3/55) and off-spinner Akshay Wakhare (2/42) blew away Saurashtra's top half to seize the momentum.
Summary of all Ranji Trophy matches played on Saturday
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Friday.
A summary of the opening day's play in the Elite Group Ranji Trophy matches across the country.
Karnataka pacer Abhimanyu Mithun picked a five-wicket haul in their Group B match against UP. While Delhi's Ricky Bhui put his team in a good position against Andhra. A round-up of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Wednesday.
Former captain Vinay Kumar hit an unbeaten 83 and shared a crucial 97-run stand for the last wicket Ronit More (10) to help Karnataka take a 39-run first innings lead against Rajasthan in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Monday.
A round-up of Ranji matches played on Saturday.
Skipper Manoj Tiwary showed the way as Bengal produced a much improved batting performance in the second innings against Mumbai in a group A encounter in Nagpur. After Ashok Dinda's 22nd five wicket haul in first class cricket enabled Bengal to restrict Mumbai to 229, Bengal scored 198 for 3 in 61 overs.
590 cricketers -- including 370 Indian players and 220 overseas players -- will go under the hammer during the two-day mega auction in Bengaluru on February 12 and 13.
Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw, who had played his first game in first class cricket after serving a eight-month ban for doping, smashed a quick 66 off 62 balls against Baroda. A round-up of Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy matches played on Monday.
Manoj Tiwary and Sudip Chatterjee scored centuries to lead Bengal's spirited comeback against Mumbai, while Gujarat put themselves in line for full seven points after enforcing the follow-on against Punjab. A round up of Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy matches.
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