“There was a time when we feared playing Mumbai, now they and other teams fear us,” said Saurashtra head coach Niraj Odedra, summing up his team's remarkable rise over the last decade.
Saurashtra have never had it better in Indian domestic cricket's rich history, having won their second Ranji Trophy title in three seasons on Sunday.
Saurashtra had beaten Bengal to win their maiden title days before the nation-wide COVID-19 induced lockdown in March 2020 and, led by the inspirational Jaydev Unadkat, they thoroughly outplayed the same opponents last week to reaffirm their dominance in red ball cricket.
In Odedra's own words, they also became a ‘white-ball force' this season by lifting their first 50-over Vijay Hazare trophy since 2007-2008.
