Youngsters fashion Gujarat-1 win

AHMEDABAD: Jaspreet Bumrah and Kamlesh Thakore picked up four wickets each and under-25 star Himalay Barad scored a masterly 74 to pave Gujarat-1's 95-run win over Saurashtra-1 in the final of the G1 Reliance One-day Tournament in Rajkot.
Chasing Gujarat-1's healthy total of 311/9 in 50 overs, Saurashtra-1 were off to a torrid start after Bumrah bowled the dependable Sagar Jogiyani and skipper Jaydev Shah in his second over.Thakore struck next cleaning up Bhushan Chauhan for 10 and Saurashtra-1 were reduced to 32/3 in the eighth over. Bumrah struck again three overs later when he disturbed Dhruve Mankodiya's timber for just three and the home team was staring down the barrel at 42/4.
Sheldon Jackson, who had a fine run in this tournament, and Kuldeep Raval tried to stem the rot but Akshar Patel sent Jackson back, caught by Chintan Gaja for 28. But just as Gujarat-1 looked to wrap things up quickly, Raval and all-rounder Chirag Jani stitched a 139-run fifth wicket partnership to stretch things further.
There is a saying that fast bowlers hunt in pairs and Bumrah and Thakore again came back to haunt the home team. First it was Thakore who sent Jani back, caught by Rakesh Dhruve for 73 (78 balls, 5x4s, 2x6s) and in the next over Bumrah had Raval, caught by Akshar Patel, for 61 (78 balls, 5x4s, 2x6s). Saurashtra-1 were finally bowled out for 216 in 43.2 overs.
Earlier, despite an array of stars in the line-up, under-25 cricketer Himalay Barad top scored for Gujarat-1 with a hard-hitting 74 off 63 balls. His innings was studded with five hits to the fence and three sixes. There were useful contributions from Piyush Tanvar (65 from 66 balls), Manpreet Juneja (60 from 68 balls), Rujul Bhatt (33 from 44 balls) and skipper Parthiv Patel (30 off 22 balls with six fours) as Gujarat-1 posted 311 for the loss of nine wickets in their stipulated 50 overs.
Though the Saurashtra-1 attack was bolstered by the return of Jaydev Unadkat, they lacked depth and the experienced Gujarat-1 batting made the most of the second-string bowling to make merry on a track that was a batting paradise. Right-arm seamer Abhishek Bhatt emerged as the best bowler for the Saurashtra-1 team picking two wickets for 71 runs, while Unadkat, Jani, Mankodiya and Visha Joshi bagged one wicket each.