UP enter final after Saurashtra crash again

VADODARA, January 8: After 40 wickets tumbled in two days and one hour's play in the Ranji Trophy Super League semi-final between Uttar Pradesh and Saurashtra at the Motibaug ground, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief of selectors Dilip Vengsarkar endorsed curator Vasudev's opinion that "this kind of lively wicket is good for the future of Indian cricket."
Minutes before Saurashtra's most experienced batsman Sitanhsu Kotak was bowled by Sudip Tyagi to give UP victory by 49 runs on Monday, Vengsarkar, who is here to spot young Indian talent, told TOI: "It's a good wicket.The batsmen (with the singular exception of the rival skippers Jaydev Shah and Mohammed Kaif, and Kotak who scored a half century a bit late in the game) did not show the application and patience required in a five-day match.
"These are the kind of wickets we need to groom our cricketers of the future," Vengsarkar added just before Saurashtra, chasing 162 runs for victory, were dismissed for 113 in their second innings.
Brief scores:
Uttar Pradesh: 188 & 100
Saurashtra, 1st innings: 127
Saurashtra, 2nd innings: 113 in 57.5 overs (Sitanshu Kotak 52, Nikhil Rathod 13, Pravin Kumar 4-39, Sudeep Tyagi 4-42).
Modi's century helps Gujarat nose ahead
Mumbai: Gujarat had best run taking a lead of 20 runs against Railways on Day Three of the five-day Plate (second) division final at the Brabourne Stadium. With two days left that may not be enough.
Opener Nilesh Modi's century (107, 432 mins, 317 balls, 18 fours) helped Gujarat make 280 chasing 260. Left-armer Ashraf Makda bowled with zest to claim the wicket of opener Siddharth Joshi and was unlucky an lbw appeal against Sanjay Bangar didn't go in his favour. He was bowling over the wicket.
Bangar, who had taken five wickets in a marathon 42 overs looms as the danger man for Gujarat because of his 6,000 runs and 200 wickets in the competition which could make him unique.
Brief score: Railways: 260 & 14 for 1 (M Kartik 9 n.o.; A Makda 1/4)
Gujarat: 280 (ND Modi 107, P Patel 52; S Bangar 5/54).