Pujara, Jadeja recover Saurashtra to 273/4

RAJKOT: An unbeaten ton by Cheteshwar Pujara and his valuable 173-run undefeated stand with Ravindra Jadeja helped Saurashtra recover from early jitters to a respectable score of 273 for four on the opening day of their elite division Ranji Trophy match against Orissa on Monday.
At stumps Pujara was on 128, while all-rounder Jadeja was unbeaten on 71.For Orissa, medium-pacer B Mohanty was the most successful bowler, picking up two wickets for 70 runs.
However, it was not the start Saurashtra expected when skipper Jaydev Shah won the toss and decided to bat.
Openers Kanaiya Vaghela (11) and Bhushan Chauhan (4) could only manage to add nine runs for the first wicket. Chauhan was the first two depart, caught by Shiv Sundar Das off the bowling of Debashish Mohanty.
Vaghela (11) and Shah (11) soon followed suit, dismissed in identical fashion to B Mohanty. Both the batsman was caught by Das behind the stumps.
However, experienced Sitanshu Kotak and Puajara did the initial resurrection work, stitching an important 73-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Kotak hit four boundaries in his patient 37 off 103 balls before being caught in front of the wicket by leg-spinner Niranjan Behara to see Saurashtra totter at 100 for four.
However, Pujara and Jadeja displayed some sensible batting to avoid any further damage for the hosts. The duo put on a crucial unbeaten 173 runs with Pujara completing his 50 of 111 balls with seven fours while his partner, who was more aggressive, took only 89 balls to reach the milestone.
Pujara hit 16 fours en route to his 128 run innings, while Jadeja's 130-ball innings included eight fours.
Former India pacer Debashish Mohanty and Behera took one wicket each, giving away 29 and 47 runs.