Upbeat Saurashtra eye win over Rajasthan

Rajkot: After scoring a psychological win over mighty Mumbai by virtue of their first innings lead, Saurashtra would be eyeing maximum points when they take on Rajasthan in the fifth round of Elite Division Ranji Trophy match beginning at Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground on Saturday.

The hosts, who had a disappointing start when they lost the opening match against Gujarat by a huge margin, returned on track by beating Orissa by an innings and then took three points against Punjab.

The team's confidence would also be high after a disciplined showing in both batting and bowling departments against a formidable Mumbai.

Against Mumbai, the hosts had put up 643 runs on board with the help of their top-order batsmen and then bowlers helped them to take first innings lead. Saurashtra bowlers then took seven wickets in the second essay, but Romesh Powar's fighting 23 off 171 balls denied them an outright win.

Cheteshwar Pujara, who has been in terrific form cracking three centuries on the trot, is hoping to continue his fascinating batting display on the easy batting track.

The experienced Sitanshu Kotak, skipper Jaydev Shah, Bhushan Chauhan, Chirag Pathak and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja are all in good form.

Bowlers, who struggled in the opening game, got back their rhythm against Mumbai. Balkrishna Jadeja, who had a dream debut taking seven wickets in the previous match, would be spearheading the bowling attack for hosts. He would be supported by Sandip Jobanputra, Rakesh Dhruve, Kamlesh Makwana and Ravindra Jadeja.

Rajasthan stand last in the Elite Division group with just two points in their kitty. Skipper Venugopal Rao, Gagan Khoda, Robin Bisht and Rajesh Beshnoi would be shouldering batting responsibility for the visitors.

Squads:

Saurashtra: Jaydev Shah (captain), Sitanshu Kotak, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rakesh Dhruve, Sandip Jobanputra, Ravindra Jadeja, Kamlesh Makwana, Sheldon Jackson, Bhushan Chauhan, Sagar Jogiyani, Jayesh Odedara, Balkrishna Jadeja, Chirag Pathak and Arpit Vasavada.

Rajasthan: Venugopal Rao (captain), Gagan Khoda, Vinit Saxena, Roibn Bisht, Rajesh Beshnoi, Nikhil Doru, Vaibhav Deshpande, Sumit Mathur, Pankaj Singh, Vivek Yadav, Gajendra Singh, Shailendra Gehlot, Vikrant Yadav, Vikram Singh and Manish Sharma.