Vijay Hazare Trophy: Tripura stuns defending champions Saurashtra

Guwahati: They say that cricket is a game of great uncertainty and this was proved to the core when minnows Tripura got the better of Saurashtra in the Vijay Hazare Trophy match on Monday.

Even with the presence of experienced Indian batsman Cheteshwar Pujara, it did not help Saurashtra as a gritty Tripura humbled the defending champions by 148 runs in their Group A match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Bengaluru.

Tripura's side is led by one of the best wicketkeeper batsmen Wriddhiman Saha.  

Winning the toss, the Saurashtra team put Tripura into bat. Fifties by Bikram Kumar Das (59 off 76 balls), Sudip Chatterjee (61 off 93 balls) and Ganesh Satish (71 off 74 balls) fuelled Tripura to a challenging 258 for 8.

Veteran left-arm pacer Jaydev Unadkat led Saurashtra’s bowling with a five-wicket haul (5 for 35).   

In reply, Saurashtra could only muster 110 before getting bowled out in 31.4 overs as part-timer bowler Joydeb Deb grabbed a fifer (5 for 15).

They were in early trouble at 13 for three after Harvik Desai, Sheldon Jackson and Chirag Jani went back in quick succession with pacer Mura Singh inflicting the blows.

Pujara (24) and Arpit Vasavada (16) tried to revive Saurashtra’s innings with a 37-run stand for the fourth wicket, but once that partnership was broken the team got bundled out for one of their lowest scores.