The second day of Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal got off to an unconventional start on Tuesday as there was just one off...
The second day of Ranji Trophy final between Saurashtra and Bengal got off to an unconventional start on Tuesday as there was just one official umpire on the field.
During the opening day of the match in Rajkot on Monday, umpire Chettithody Shamsuddin got injured after being hit by a ball which was lobbed towards him at the fall of a wicket. This forced him to stay off the field at the start of play on day two.
What this also meant was that KN Ananthapadmanabhan was umpiring from both ends to start proceedings on the second day. Piyush Kakkar was deployed as only the square-leg umpire, with not much officiating to do.
The third umpire for the match is Sundaram Ravi but he could not take the field as he has the responsibility of looking at DRS calls, among other things.
This turn of events further mars the title clash of India’s premier first-class tournament. At the end of the first day’s play, Bengal coach Arun Lal had slammed the quality of the pitch at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
Opting to bat first after skipper Jaydev Unadkat won the toss, Saurashtra had reached 206/5 at stumps on Monday. Cheteshwar Pujara had to retire because of a throat infection and fever but the...
