Jaydev Unadkat bowled Saurashtra to a thumping win in the semi-final clash against Assam with a ten-wicket haul in the game. The left arm pacer, who had claimed nine wickets in the quarter-final against Vidarbha, picked 11 for 122 in Vadodara to help his team qualify for the Ranji Trophy 2015-16 final. Speaking about his back-to-back performances which have been vital to Saurashtra’s wins in the knockout games, Unadkat said, “I would rate these among the best of my career so far. To perform when your team needs it the most feels good,” he said while talking to BCCI.TV The left-arm pacer had claimed six for 77 in the first innings against Assam and followed it up with a five for 45 in the second to help beat the opposition in little under three days. With his new-ball partner, Hardik Rathod, Unadkat ran through the opposition with clinical precision. “This match was probably the one where I used the angles a lot. I was bowling over the wicket and round the wicket as well. I was using the crease as well just to create a doubt in the batsman’s mind. And yes, consistency is important on any wicket and throughout any match. We were all bowling in one area and that consistency helped us to build partnerships while bowling. It helped us get those wickets.” The pair bent their backs as they relentlessly tested the Assam batsmen twice in a span of three days. “Creating pressure from both the ends helped and we struck at regular intervals. “I had the role of taking the wickets whenever I came on to bowl. We were the two bowlers persisting with consistent line and length. We were all given specific roles and probably the clarity of roles gave an idea how to go about the task as a bowling unit,” he elaborated. Speaking about the conditions, the pacer said, “I won’t say that it was a green top, but there was enough bounce in the wicket throughout the three days and we capitalised on it. It was assisting the seamers more than the spinners so the seamers took the responsibility to finish the game off. Being the strike bowler of the team, I had to take the responsibility, which I did, and I am really happy for the team.” His partner, Rathod claimed three wickets in each innings. Discussing the partnership, Unadkat said, “It has been good,” while stressing that, “Partnerships are equally important in bowling and not only in batting.” “We are complementing each other well. He is also tall like me and gets that bounce from the wicket. Both these wickets (Vadodara and Vizianagaram) that we played on, had enough bounce in it so we were both troubling the batsmen from both the ends. It’s necessary to build the pressure otherwise while one is bowling well from one end, runs could keep coming from the other. So I am happy that we are both bowling well from both the ends. It is helping the team as well as us as individuals.” Speaking about their interactions, Unadkat said, “We work on similar aspects in the nets as well. We work on the wrist position and the lengths in the nets. It’s just about motivating each other more in the matches rather than talking. At times when a batsman comes in to bat and if we know something about him, then we pass on that information. Other than that, it’s just about telling the other fellow to keep hitting those right lengths, have patience and go through the spell in a motion.” So what was his preparation like before the knockouts? “Nothing special, but yes, I was working on my bowling techniques and I was focussing on getting in the space where a bowler gets the right rhythm. For a bowler, in Test matches, it is really important that he is in the perfect space to get that rhythm going, otherwise you really have to push yourself at times and it can get harder for you to get wickets. Once you get that rhythm correct, it can all happen in one motion. One spell comes and you can just run through the opponents. So in the nets as well, I was working on getting in that space where I just have a smooth run-up and go and bowl in a very good rhythm which happened in the matches as well. I am happy that I did it when it was required.” When they needed three wickets on the second morning to wrap up Assam’s first innings, the pacer claimed them in the span of four balls. Three wickets were needed and we were looking to get them as soon as possible. To get those three wickets in four balls was almost what I wanted.” His last two came off successive deliveries and Unadkat was on a hat-trick when he came out to bowl in the second innings on the third day. Asked if he had planned for the hat-trick ball, which came a day later, the pacer said, “Not at all. I just realised it now when you are telling me that it was a hat-trick ball.” While he has been stepping up with the ball, Unadkat has also contributed with the bat in the ongoing season and has two half-centuries. “It’s good to contribute for the team in every way possible. I love batting and have been doing well this season. I have got the team to first innings lead in the league phase a couple of times and also did well in the T20s. I love to hit those sixes and boundaries. I really get that feeling (of a high) after hitting them. It is something that I am enjoying at the moment and I would love to keep doing it like I have done this season.” As the season comes to an end, Saurashtra will face the winner of the Madhya Pradesh- Mumbai match in the last game. The team had lost to Mumbai in 2012-13. Speaking about the impending clash, Unadkat said, “Any team whether it is Mumbai or MP, the kind of form that our team is in at the moment, we would definitely go hard at the opposition. And we would like to turn things around if its Mumbai in the finals. We didn’t do well in that final at all. Everyone remembers that as Mumbai running through us in three days, so we would like to erase that memory. Give them a hard time and prove that we were not just a side that comes and goes in the finals, but we are a dominating side in the domestic circuit.”