Rest Of India Bowlers Shine In Irani Cup As Saurashtra Reduced To 98 Runs

Irani Cup Day 1: Saurashtra were bowled out for 98 in 24.5 overs in the first innings of their Irani Cup encounter against the rest of India on Saturday, October 1 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

Saurashtra were on the verge of achieving the lowest total in Irani Cup history after being put in to bat first. The squad, headed by Jaydev Unadkat, was at 65 for the loss of nine wickets after 16.1 overs. However, a 33-run partnership for the 10th wicket between Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Chetan Sakariya helped Saurashtra get close to 100 runs. Mukesh Kumar was ROI's outstanding bowler, taking four wickets for 23 runs.

After removing Harvik Desai and Chirag Jani, Kumar gave ROI the initial breakthrough. Kuldeep Sen, who played for Rajasthan Royals in the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL), and Umran Malik then joined the party, each taking three wickets. 

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Kuldeep Sen was a little pricey, conceding 41 runs in seven overs, but he took the crucial wicket of Cheteshwar Kumar, who came into the game after a fantastic county season for Sussex in England. Arpit Vasavada led the Saurashtra batting with a quick-fire 19-ball 22 with four fours. However, Umran cut short his innings in the tenth over.

Saurashtra's best scorer was Jadeja, who struck a tidy 36-ball 28 with six fours. Sakariya remained undefeated with 13 off 23 and two fours.