Saurashtra rewarded for discipline, says coach Sitanshu Kotak

Saurashtra star Cheteshwar Pujara celebrates the dismissal of Vidarbha batsman Akshay Wadkar during the Ranji Trophy final in Nagpur yesterday. Pic/PTI

Saurashtra coach Sitanshu Kotak was all smiles after being, "rewarded reasonably" for their disciplined effort, which left defending champions Vidarbha reeling at 200 for seven at the end of Day One of the Ranji Trophy final here yesterday. Kotak said removing Wasim Jaffer, who has a penchant to produce big hundreds, cheaply and the strange dismissal of rival captain Faiz Fazal allowed them to take control over the proceedings.

Kotak admitted that if Jaffer gets going, it's difficult to stop the run riot and felt that the in-form batsman perhaps made a mistake by not going for his strokes. Jaffer was dismissed for just 23 by Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat, who moved one away and Jaffer, without moving his feet, nicked it to first slip.

"Wasimbhai likes to go for his shots but he sort of held back. The wicket was also slow and a bit damp. We had a decent day after losing toss. We would also have batted first upon winning the toss," said Kotak.

"We were very disciplined, the intensity was there and we have been reasonably rewarded. We kept getting wickets at intervals. We were lucky to get that Faiz wicket (strange run out). It's definitely not a wicket where you can bowl out opposition for 150, so we have done well."

Meanwhile, Vidarbha batsman Akshay Karnewar, who played a key role in saving his team the blushes with his fighting unbeaten 31 in the final session, said his side is in for a grind. "We were out of the game, came back and then again were out. It was slow surface but still good for batting. We lost wickets at wrong times. We have to bat as long as possible tomorrow," he said.

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