Vidarbha Vs Kerala Ranji Trophy Final Day 2 Highlights: KER 131/3 In Reply To Vidarbha's 379 In 1st Innings
Vidarbha vs Kerala Ranji Trophy Final Day 2 Highlights: Aditya Sarwate's unbeaten 66 anchored Kerala's reply as the visitors reached 131/3 at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final, after restricting hosts Vidarbha to 379 in the first innings on Thursday.
Vidarbha vs Kerala Ranji Trophy Final Day 2 Highlights: Aditya Sarwate’s unbeaten 66 anchored Kerala’s reply as the visitors reached 131/3 at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final, after restricting hosts Vidarbha to 379 in the first innings on Thursday.
Doughty Kerala fought all day long to keep the game interestingly poised as they trailed by another 248 runs in the first innings, riding on local star Sarwate’s fine knock after their bowlers did not allow Vidarbha to post a huge total in the first essay.
Vidarbha had set sights on a total around 450 after reaching 254/4 on the opening day, but Kerala fought back incredibly well to keep the hosts under 400 which featured a career-best 153 from Danish Malewar and Karun Nair’s 86.
Kerala, who had ended the opening day’s play with the vital dismissal of Karun Nair (86), remained persistent throughout the first session on the second day as their seamers MD Nidheesh (3/61), Eden Apple Tom (3/102) and NM Basil (2/60) produced a unified show.
Basil snuck one through the gap between Malewar’s bat and pads for the first breakthrough, ending the No 4 batter’s charge at 153 off 285 balls with 15 fours and three sixes.
But perhaps the biggest breakthroughs of the day came for Kerala when Eden had Vidarbha’s red-hot form batter Yash Rathod caught in the slips for a mere three.
Without much pace on the delivery, Eden got the ball to straighten up enough to catch the shoulder of the bat which landed in the hands of the fielder at the first slip.
Vidarbha skipper Akshay Wadkar’s (23) resistance did not last long when his charge against Eden’s delivery outside off, took an edge and keeper Mohammed Azharuddeen did the rest.
To their credit, Vidarbha’s tail consisting Akshay Karnewar (12), Harsh Dubey (12 not out) and Nachiket Bhute (32) did well to drag them as far as 379.
It was imperative for Vidarbha to strike with the new ball and Darshan Nalkande (2/22) provided two early wickets, cleaning up both the Kerala openers Akshay Chandran (14) and Rohan Kunnummal (0) to reduce Kerala to a precarious 14/2.
But Sarwate, who was once a vital cog in Vidarbha’s line-up and was a member of their two-time title winning campaigns in 2017-18 and 2018-19, stood against his former side to lead a strong reply for Kerala.
The 35-year-old Sarwate, who had switched from Vidarbha to Kerala after the last Ranji Trophy season, battled hard to reach 66 not out from 120 balls with 10 fours and remained stoic even as there were challenges along the way.
Sarwate also had luck on his side when Vidarbha did not opt for a caught-behind appeal from skipper Wadkar in the 25th over. The replays showed the ball had brushed Sarwate’s gloves.
The left-handed Sarwate put on 93 for the third wicket with Ahammed Imran (37 off 83 balls, 3x4s), who too had a reprieve early on when he was batting on nine.
Bhute’s delivery, angling across the left-handed Imran surprised the batter with some bounce as it took the edge and flew towards the first slip. But substitute fielder Atharva Taide, at second slip, went for the catch and spilled it.
If Vidarbha were left to rue their mistakes, they did not fail in breaking the partnership when Yash Thakur (1/45) dismissed Imran late in the day.
Having seen the batter mishit a pull shot, Thakur got another substitute fielder Aman Mokhade at midwicket and lured Imran to play it again. The batter obliged, with another mishit, which resulted in the third success of the innings for Vidarbha.
Brief scores
Vidarbha: 379 in 123.1 overs (Danish Malewar 153, Karun Nair 86; MD Nidheesh 3/61, Eden Apple Tom 3/101, NM Basil 2/60) lead Kerala: 131/3 in 39 overs (Aditya Sarwate 66*, Ahammed Imran 37; Darshan Nalkande 2/22) by 248 runs.
In reply, Kerala lost two wickets in quick succession but Sarwate and Imran added close to 90 runs on the board to steady the ship. Imran looked good for his 37 but he gifted away his wicket. Aditya Sarwate is still batting and could be the key wicket for Vidarbha. Kerala still trail by 248 runs and needs this partnership to blossom for them. Vidarbha on the other hand will hope their pacers remain fresh and start Day 3 on a high. Join us for the action at 9.30 am IST (4 am GMT). Till then, cheers!
A fine day for Kerala. They have done brilliantly with the ball first and later with the bat. Despite losing three wickets, they end the day on a high. It began with their bowlers putting in a lot of effort to get rid of Vidarbha’s batters. Danish Malewar was at the fore with his brilliant 150 but his wicket and Thakur’s wicket helped Kerala start Day 2 well. Vidarbha’s tail did wag and added some crucial runs but Kerala were right on the money with the ball.
38.6 – Short and outside off, Baby cuts it through point for a single. STUMPS!
Batsman_1 : Sachin Baby 7(23)
Batsman_2 : Aditya Sarwate 66(120)
Bowler : Akshay Karnewar 0/1(1)
Over : 39
Run : 1
Wicket : 0
Score : 131/3
38.5 – Flat and around off, Baby prods and blocks it out.
38.4 – Too full and around off, this is defended well.
38.3 – Tossed up on off, baby solidly blocks it out.
38.2 – Flighted full and on off, Baby defends on the front foot.
38.1 – Flat and on off, Baby blocks on the off side.
37.6 – No run, played towards mid off.
37.5 – Length and on off, Sarwate pushes it to cover.
37.4 – Fuller ball on middle, Sarwate blocks it out.
37.3 – Length and on off, Sarwate defends it out.
37.2 – Fuller ball on off. Sarwate defends it out.
37.1 – Leg bye! On the pads. Baby misses his flick and it rolls to square leg for a leg bye.
36.6 – 1 run, played towards covers.
36.5 – An arm ball on middle, Baby blocks it out.
36.4 – On off, Sarwate works it through covers for a single.
36.3 – Slides it full and down the leg side, Sarwate looks to sweep but seems to miss it.
36.2 – Flighted on middle, Sarwate defends.
36.1 – Too full and on middle, Sarwate blocks.
35.6 – Outside off, this is guided to point for a single.
Batsman_1 : Aditya Sarwate 65(111)
Batsman_2 : Sachin Baby 5(14)
Bowler : Yash Thakur 1/45(8)
Over : 36
Run : 5
Wicket : 0
Score : 127/3
35.5 – Shorter and outside off, Sarwate sways away from the line of the ball.
35.4 – Fuller ball on off, defended out.
35.3 – FOUR! Well played! A length ball, outside off, Sarwate plays with an angled bat to third man for a boundary.
35.2 – Angling on the pads, Sarwate turns it to mid-wicket.
35.1 – Too full and around off, Sarwate leans and blocks it out.
34.6 – On middle, blocked out.
Batsman_1 : Sachin Baby 5(14)
Batsman_2 : Aditya Sarwate 60(105)
Bowler : Parth Rekhade 0/18(4)
Over : 35
Run : 5
Wicket : 0
Score : 122/3
34.5 – Floated on middle, Baby leans and blocks it out.
34.4 – Full and on off, Sarwate plays it to cover for a single.
34.3 – FOUR! Deft touch! Flat and outside off, Sarwate dabs it to third man for a boundary.
34.2 – Tossed up full and on middle, Sarwate defends.
34.1 – Angling on middle, Sarwate punches it to cover.
33.6 – No run.
33.5 – Too full and outside off, this is defended to point.
33.4 – Outside off, this is punched to cover.
33.3 – Length and on off, Sarwate plays it to cover for one.
33.2 – Bangs it short and on off, Sarwate ducks under it.
33.1 – Short in length and on middle, Sarwate hops and blocks it out. He gets hit on the gloves and the physio is out to asses him.
33.1 – No run.
32.4 – Fuller ball, outside off, this is driven to covers for a single.