Jaydev Unadkat becomes first Saurashtra bowler to bag 300 wickets in Ranji

Saurashtra skipper Jaydev Unadkat achieved a special feat on Thursday (February 16) as he became the first Saurashtra bowler to bag 300 wickets in the Ranji Trophy.

During the ongoing Ranji Trophy final against Bengal, which commenced on February 16 and is being played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, Jaydev Unadkat achieved the feat. Saurashtra had a great outing on Day 1 as they were in complete control over the proceedings against Bengal right from the word go.

For the unversed, Jaydev Unadkat was named in India’s squad for the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and he was released from the team so he could lead his domestic team Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy 2023 Final. The 31-year-old won the toss and opted to bowl against Bengal, made the most of the early hour of the game as he started attacking Bengal’s batting line-up right from the first over.

The left-arm medium pacer got rid of Abhimanyu Easwaran, providing the first jolt to Bengal, from which they couldn’t properly recover in their innings. Unadkat went on dismiss Bengal skipper Manoj Tiwary in the fifth over, and finally ended Bengal’s innings at a moderate 174, by taking a catch off his own bowling to dismiss Mukesh Kumar, and completed his feat of becoming the first-ever Saurashtra bowler to reach 300 wickets in Ranji Trophy history.

This achievement was just another feather to the many he has already added to his cap in domestic cricket. His earlier achievement involves holding the record for the most wickets by a pace bowler in a single Ranji Trophy season.

He achieved this feat back in the Ranji Trophy season of 2019-20, where he bagged 67 wickets in ten matches. Saurashtra had last lifted the trophy during the 2019-20 season and coincidentally, they had defeated Bengal in the final.