NEW DELHI: In the middle of the 22nd over when
Saurashtra
captain
Cheteshwar Pujara (17) got out, his team was in dire straits. Reeling at 69 for four, not many thought Saurashtra could post a competitive score against the in-form Andhra team in the second semi-final of the
Vijay Hazare Trophy at the
Ferozeshah Kotla
, here on Sunday.
However,
Ravindra Jadeja (56 off 51 balls, 4x4, 1X6) and
Arpit Vasavada (58 off 59 balls, 4X4, 2X6) had other plans. The pair added 113 for the fifth wicket which helped Saurashtra tide over the early setbacks. Towards the end, Prerak Mankad's (40 off 28 balls, 6X4) late onslaught helped Saurashtra reach a competitive 255. Much was expected of Andhra but they failed to put up a fight and folded up for 196 in 45.3 overs.
On Tuesday, Saurashtra will take on
Karnataka in the final.
A side strain forced Ravindra Jadeja from rolling over his arm, but
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja come up with a good spell to claim four quick wickets. He was well complimented by his colleagues with the usual tactics of bowling stump-to-stump. The Ferozeshah Kotla pitch wasn't on the slower side nor chasing 256 was a tough job but it was more of a mind game of applying yourself and pacing the innings and forming partnerships. That didn't happen in the Andhra innings. From last 70 balls, Andhra needed 93 runs with four wickets remaining. But they didn't have the firepower to finish the game on a high. Both Bodapati Sumanth and Dwaraka Ravi Teja scored 42 runs apiece but they could not take their team over the rope.
Earlier, Andhra won the toss and opted to field. Unlike Maharashtra who made the mistake of opting to bat first under the overcast conditions at the Kotla, Andhra were promptly rewarded with two quick wickets. Their last match hero, Shiv Kumar, who had demolished the Delhi batting at the Palam ground, bowled another gem of a spell. He took two wickets with three maidens from his stipulated 10 overs and conceded only 19 runs. But the rest of the bowling department wasn't up to the challenge. Imandi Karthik Raman did impress as he took four wickets but he gave away too many runs. Even pacer Ayyappa Bandaru was a little generous toward the opposition.
With the bat, Andhra weren't up to the challenge. Coming into this game after winning seven matches in a row, Hanuma Vihari and his men failed to match Saurashtra's disciplined bowling. Right at the top, Srikar Bharat got out just when he was looking set. Ditto for Vihari, who got out after getting a good start. Their middle-order batsman Ricky Bhui got run-out while Sumanth too tried to resurrect the Andhra innings, but it wasn't an easy task. At 91 for four, Andhra did comeback into the game with a little partnership of 59 runs between Sumanth and Ravi Teja. But Sumanth's dismissal in the deep-mid wicket dashed all the hope for a team, which was looking good to go all the way.
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