“To go all the way and win it again is tougher” - Chetan Sakariya on Saurashtra’s Ranji Trophy triumph

Left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya was one of the main stars of Saurashtra's triumph in the Ranji Trophy 2022/23. Saurashtra had already won the tournament back in 2020, beating Bengal in the final, but this time the challenge was even tougher and they rose to the occasion.

Captain Jaydev Unadkat received his much-deserved call-up to the Indian Test team on the tour to Bangladesh and was accompanied by fellow Saurashtra veteran Cheteshwar Pujara. Without two of their big guns, things looked bleak for Saurashtra going into the knockouts.

However, in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, Chetan Sakariya explained how each individual from the team stepped up and ensured that they held their nerves in crunch moments.

Speaking about the difficulty of maintaining their dominance in the Ranji Trophy, Sakariya said:

"To win the Ranji Trophy once is tough, but to go all the way and win it again is tougher because teams have studied your strengths and weaknesses and they prepare accordingly. Moreover, we didn't have our two most experienced players in Cheteshwar Bhai and Jaydev Bhai as they were on national duty."

Chetan Sakariya also shed light on some incredible individual performances that some players pulled off to ensure that Saurashtra emerged victorious in those crunch moments during the knockout stages. He said:

"There wasn't any pressure due to the absence of these big names, but there was a sense of added responsibility on everyone. We knew that in crunch moments, individuals among us had to stand up and deliver extraordinary performances.

"That's exactly what happened with Parth Bhut scoring a hundred in the quarterfinal, Arpit Bhai (Arpit Vasavda) and Sheldon Bhai (Sheldon Jackson) scoring in tough situation in the semifinals. So individual brilliance has been another reason for our success."

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Chetan Sakariya on Jaydev Unadkat's performance in the final

Jaydev Unadkat had continuously toiled hard for 12 years to get his next Test call-up and that dream came true for him in December last year. He was also selected in India's squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 but was later released to play for Saurashtra in the final against Bengal.

Unadkat made a massive difference as his six-wicket haul in the second innings broke Bengal's resistance. Admittedly mesmerized by Unadkat's bowling, Chetan Sakariya stated:

"Jaydev Bhai seemed an even more confident bowler after his India comeback. He applied constant pressure from one end and was executing all his plans to perfection.

"Sometimes for me, it is difficult to execute something outside my comfort zone, but that wasn't the case with Jaydev Bhai as he was absolutely bang on the money all the time."

Sakariya picked up 27 wickets from nine games in the Ranji Trophy 2022/23, with some crucial contributions with the bat as well.