Saurashtra take five points from drawn game

Thanks to a destructve eight wicket haul by Rakesh Dhruve in Maharashtra's first innings, Saurashtra earned five points from their drawn West Zone Under-22 league match at the Municipal Corporation Cricket Ground at Rajkot on Monday.

Opting to bat on the opening day, Saurashtra ran up 320 on the board. The top scorer was U Karavadra with a fine 76. Opener K Waghela (57), J Shah (41) and stumper W Masuri 53 not out) also made useful contributions. Saeed Khot (3 for 45) and Kashinath Khadkikar (3 for 68) did most of the damage.

Maharashtra came up against some inspired bowling by Dhruve (8 for 73) and were all out for 195 on the final afternoon. Dhruve ripped through the middle and lower order to give his team a handsome lead of 125 runs. Opener D Jadhav was the top scorer with a fighting 49. The other two wickets were taken by B Mehta.

In their second innings, Saurashtra made 115 for six in the remaining 56 overs. Firoz Bambhnia was the top scorer with 40. Sachin Aradhye was the most successful bowler with 3 for 17.