Jaydev Unadkat dedicates Ranji Trophy triumph to Saurashtra veteran

Saurashtra captain and pacer Jaydev Unadkat on Sunday, February 19 dedicated the Ranji Trophy title victory to his team-mate Chateshwar Pujara. He also called the veteran one of the region’s "favourite sons".

Earlier, Saurashtra defeated Bengal in the final match of the Ranji Trophy at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, and clinched the title.  On the other hand, a couple of hours later, Pujara also scored the winning runs against Australia in his 100th Test match in Delhi.

"As I said before it's a fitting tribute to one of Saurashtra's favourite sons, Chintu (Pujara's nickname). He played his 100th Test for India against Australia in Delhi, but he was equally eager, wishing us all throughout," Unadakat said after his team’s phenomenal win as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Meanwhile, in the Delhi Test, Pujara became the 13th Indian cricketer to play 100 Tests or more. In 2010, he made his international debut and has amassed 7052 runs in his 13-year-long career in the longest form of the sport. Before joining India for the national assignment, Pujara also appeared in a couple of games for Saurashtra and scored 25, 5, and 91 in three innings.

Unadkat, who has guided Saurashtra to three domestic titles under his leadership, said “this decade and era belongs” to Saurashtra. 

In the final Ranji match against Bengal, Saurashtra registered a comprehensive victory by nine wickets against. Earlier, in the domestic season, Saurashtra also won the Vijay Hazare Trophy under Unadkat in December 2022.

Unadkat said, "It was important to win this one to prove the dominance and to show everyone that this era, this decade belongs to Saurashtra." 

"Three trophies in three years proves that we have been doing a lot of things right. We have set a tone, I'm really proud of what this team has achieved. It's not just about winning trophies but creating a legacy for our team, which will leave a bigger impact on cricket in the region. Our goal will be to carry forward this legacy for at least 3-4 years till the core of our team is intact."

 For a better experience: Download the CricTracker app from the IOS App Store and Google Play Store