Jadeja stars as Saurashtra defeat Maharashtra

Pune: Slow-left arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja grabbed seven wickets — including a hat-trick — in the second innings as he shattered Maharashtra batsmen during their  Elite Group ‘A’ Ranji Trophy match at Golf Club Ground in Nashik, guiding Saurashtra to an outright five-wicket win on Monday.

Left-arm pacer Hardik Rathod started the proceedings for the visitors by removing Maharashtra skipper Ankeet Bawane (25), who was caught behind by Snell Patel, before the 28-year-old Jadeja stole the show.
Jadeja removed Naushad Shaikh on 26 before Kedar Jadhav was stumped on the first ball he faced.
 
He then grabbed a hat-trick in the 72nd over of Maharashtra’s innings, to put the cherry on the top. Ashay Palkar was caught behind by Patel on the second ball of the over, on the third delivery, Satyajeet Bachhav was trapped lbw, while Anupam Sanklecha was caught by Aarpit Vasavada, giving Jadeja his hat-trick.

Wicket-keeper batsman Rohit Motwani, who came to bat at No. 3, scored an unbeaten 120 off 195 balls with 15 fours, which went in vain, as Maharashtra’s hopes of making it to the knock-out stage of the tournament all but over.

At Wankhede Stadium, former champions Mumbai claimed three points against Baroda in a tame draw after Baroda failed to skittle out Mumbai, as the hosts posted 307 for seven, when two teams agreed on a draw, with Baroda not batting in their second innings.