Patel's five wicket haul restricts Saurashtra

Half centuries from skipper Sitanshu Kotak and Hitesh Parsana lifted Saurashtra to a modest 218/8 on the opening day of their West Zone Ranji Trophy tie against Gujarat at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium in Surat on Saturday. New ball bowler Lalit Patel did most of the damage for Gujarat with a five wicket haul.

Saurashtra suffered an early blow when opener Prashant Joshi retired hurt in the first over of the match, bowled by Hitesh Majumdar. He did not resume his innings during the day. The first three wickets fell cheaply but with the score on 70, Kotak and Parsana joined hands in a fourth wicket association yielding 106. Both batsmen were scalped by Patel with Kotak the first to depart, bowled for an obdurate 68 (217 balls, 3 fours).

From a healthy 176/3, five wickets tumbled for 42 and play was called off at the fall of the eighth wicket, four balls ahead of stumps. The new ball which was taken after 84 overs saw off three batsmen including Parsana. His 176 ball knock, which included nine fours and a six, produced 65. Patel mopped up figures of 5/72 with Majumdar and Bhavin Mehta sharing the other three wickets.