Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Last day of final to be played in empty stadium due to Coronavirus threat

The final day of the Ranji Trophy final game between Saurashtra and Bengal will be played behind closed doors, i.e. with no spectators in the stadium. This has been decided after the Sports Ministry informed all sports bodies to follow the advice of the Health Ministry regarding the presence of large crowds at sporting events.

This step has been taken keeping in mind the health of the players, the staff, and also the crowd, who would flock the stadium on the final day, rendering them susceptible to the rapidly-spreading Coronavirus. An empty stadium will prevent a large gathering, which would, in turn, reduce the possibility of the outbreak of the virus.

The final day's play of Ranji Trophy match between Bengal and Saurashtra in Rajkot to be played in empty stadium

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) March 12, 2020

Here's what BCCI general manager Saba Karim (who is in charge of domestic cricket) told PTI:

"No public will be allowed on the final day. Only the players, match officials, officials from the host association and media are allowed."

Coming to the game, Bengal are looking to win their first title since 1989-90 while Saurashtra are trying to win their maiden trophy. Batting first, Saurashtra put up a huge score of 425 on the board on the back of a brilliant century (106) from Arpit Vasavada and important half-centuries from Avi Barot (54), Vishvaraj Jadeja (54), and Cheteshwar Pujara (66).

Also see - Live cricket score

In reply, Bengal stumbled early but thanks to Sudip Chatterjee's 81 and half-centuries from Wriddhiman Saha (64) and Anustup Majumdar (58*), they are now just 71 runs behind their opponents, with the scoreboard reading 354-6.

Tomorrow (the final day of play), Bengal's hopes will be on Majumdar while Saurashtra will look to clean up the Bengal tail quickly.