At the Ekana Stadium here, after trailing by 171 runs, Saurashtra clawed their way back by dismissing UP for 194 in the second essay
Cheteshwar Pujara may not have made a big contribution, but his mere presence was reassuring enough as Saurashtra notched up the highest run-chase in the annals of the Ranji Trophy to subdue Uttar Pradesh by six wickets on the way to the semi-finals.
At the Ekana Stadium here, after trailing by 171 runs, Saurashtra clawed their way back by dismissing UP for 194 in the second essay. That left them with a daunting target of 372. Pujara remained unbeaten on 67 and Sheldon Jackson on 73 as the two put on 136 for the fifth wicket to take the team home an hour after lunch on the final day.
Much was expected of Pujara in the first innings, but he was gobbled up by junior India pacer Shivam Mavi for 11. That led to Saurashtra conceding a huge lead. But the bowlers, led by skipper Jaydev Unadkat, kept their team in the hunt by not allowing the hosts to run away with the match.
Openers Snell Patel and Harvik Desai put Saurashtra on the path to victory by setting a strong platform of 132 runs. Desai went on to score 116 before leaving the stage for Pujara and Jackson. The two completed the task with nonchalant ease as the team finished at 372-4, surpassing the earlier highest run-chase of 371 by Assam against Services in 2008-09.
It was moment to rejoice for Saurashtra but disappointing for the home team who were right on the top for the first three days, before losing the battle to seasoned campaigners.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates