11 March,2020 07:48 AM IST | Rajkot | Kashinath Bhattacharjee
Arun Lal
Bengal coach J Arun Lal was not happy with the wicket, after Saurashtra ended Day Two of the Ranji Trophy final on 384-8 at the SCA Stadium here on Tuesday.
"Unse sikho [learn from them] how to play on such a dead wicket," was Arun Lal's advice to his batsmen, who would need all the motivation they can get, as they prepare to bat on what he termed a "poor wicket."
"It's not a cricketing wicket. It's slow, the ball is keeping low. It's not easy to bowl at all. Our bowlers had to do a lot to send the ball through. Even for the batsmen, it's the same. They managed only 178 runs in the whole day [Day Two]. And [Cheteshwar] Pujara made 66 off 237 balls which speaks volumes of his concentration and patience. They have taught us how to play here and I shall be asking my boys to learn from them," said Arun Lal, appreciating the efforts of Pujara and Arpit Vasavada (106 off 287) who guided Saurashtra to a near-400 total.
Arun Lal however, felt it's game on still. "We are definitely not out of the game. The only thing is that they have runs on the board and we don't. We would've been happier to contain them to around 300-325 but my bowlers have done a great job of restricting this strong batting line-up. If our batsmen don't throw away their wickets, we can score big too," concluded Arun Lal.
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