Wriddhiman Saha rides luck as Bengal remain in hunt for title

It took two iffy decisions that reprieved Cheteshwar Pujara in the semi-final of the 2018-19 Ranji Trophy for the BCCI to make clear their intentions of installing DRS for the knockout stages of the ongoing season. But having a "half-baked DRS" - as members of the Saurashtra camp described - has reiterated what was feared: a system that could end up causing more confusion, maybe even leave third umpires guessing.

It was one such guess early on Thursday that has perhaps given Bengal a doorway to the title. Understandably, it left Saurashtra disappointed.

It was the third over of the morning. Bengal had added just four runs to their overnight 134 for 3, with Wriddhiman Saha on 6. Jaydev Unadkat got the ball to jag back in from around the stumps to beat a half-prodding Saha. As soon as the ball thudded into his pads, Unadkat knew it was out. Umpire KN Ananthapadhmanabhan nodded and Saurashtra celebrated wildly.

It looked like Saha didn't get an inside edge, because he would have immediately reviewed otherwise. He spoke to his non-striker, Sudip Chatterjee, and challenged the on-field call at the stroke of 15 seconds. S Ravi, the third umpire, looked at multiple replays.

The square-on angle showed the bat was a touch ahead of the pad, but there was nothing to suggest an obvious deflection. Then he asked for the front-on angle, again inconclusive because there was no drastic change in seam position. Yet, he ruled not out because he thought there was an inside edge. A very thin one, because he "can hear two sounds" even though the visual evidence suggested otherwise. The green light flashed and Saha survived.

It was the slice of luck Bengal needed after Abhimanyu Easwaran was given out in a similar manner on Wednesday, the third morning. Easwaran was struck on leg stump at the point of impact, and while the angle the ball was delivered from made it obvious it would have missed leg stump, the absence of ball-tracking meant the TV umpire simply had to look for an inside edge in case of a referral. There wasn't any and Easwaran was sent back.

On the fourth morning, Saha's reprieve proved to be a vital moment in the game. Saha and Chatterjee, who came together on the third evening at 124 for 3, added 101, more importantly occupying the crease for over four hours and battling through 49 overs, well into the second session. By the time Chatterjee was out jabbing to short leg, Bengal's deficit had come down to exactly 200.

Saurashtra's camp was guarded, not wanting to get into the DRS debate while the game was still on. In their minds, they need just four good balls to win their first-ever Ranji Trophy title. But their coach gave a peek into the fact that they were hampered by the decision. "We definitely need a full-fledged DRS," Karsan Ghavri said. "It was a key moment in the game, but we were fully aware of the system in place. Hopefully it will be looked into for the future."

The lbw reprieve wasn't Saha's only slice of luck. Immediately in the over that followed the huge lbw appeal, Saha should have been run out for 8 after being sent back while attempting a single. The mid-off fielder failed to effect a direct hit while wicketkeeper Avi Barot, charging in from his position, failed to grab the ball and remove the bails.

Then, he was dropped at gully soon after the second new ball was taken in the 83rd over while pushing at a wide delivery. It carried to Vishwaraj Jadeja, who first moved the wrong way to his right before moving to his left. Visibly disturbed by his shin pads, he put in a desperate dive but cuffed the chance. Saha eventually fell for 64, by which time Saurashtra knew Bengal's lower-order pluck wouldn't make matters easy.

The beauty of Saha's innings lay in his simplicity: try and get outside the line, not allow Unadkat to threaten his off stump by the one that straightens. And whenever there was a hint of pressure building on him, he found a way to pierce the off side through some of the most gorgeous copybook strokes to not just eat into the deficit, but also relieve some pressure.

"It was incredible, the fight he showed," Bengal coach Arun Lal said. "He hadn't played any cricket for three weeks. He sat out in New Zealand. To come in here, have one net and bat the way he did showed character. Some of it wasn't pretty, but you don't need to be pretty. You need guts, you need to show fight and he did just that."

While these opportunities may or may not have directly impacted Saurashtra, it did give Bengal some leeway, which they maximised to the fullest as the day panned out.

Saha's may haven't been that fairytale daddy hundred, but in battling through the way he did, he had laid down a marker for Bengal's lower order to follow.