Veteran Sachin Baby steadied Kerala’s innings with a resolute unbeaten half-century, guiding his team to 206/4 against a probing Gujarat attack on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy semifinal here on Monday. The 36-year-old southpaw occupied the crease for two full sessions, crafting an unbeaten 69 off 193 balls (8×4) that kept their maiden final hopes alive. He found an able ally in Mohammed Azharuddeen, who remained unbeaten on 30 off 66 balls (3×4) after surviving a last-ball LBW scare as DRS overturned the decision, denying Gujarat a breakthrough right before stumps. Trapped LBW by Chintan Gaja, the Kerala keeper-batter was given out by the on-field umpire, sparking celebrations in Gujarat camp.

However, the batter immediately reviewed the decision, and ball-tracking confirmed it was sliding down the leg side as Kerala heaved a sigh of relief, ending the day without further damage.

Their unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 49 runs kept Kerala afloat against Gujarat’s relentless bowling attack, which deployed seven bowlers, though only Arzan Nagwaswalla (16-4-39-1), Priyajitsing Jadeja (12-0-33-1), and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi (15-2-33-1) managed breakthroughs.

With Kerala looking to build on their total, the first session on day two will be crucial, and Baby’s innings will hold the key.

On the other hand, the hosts, seeking their first final appearance since their maiden Ranji Trophy triumph in 2016-17, will look to seize control early.

Opting to bat, Kerala started well, but none of the top-order batters could convert their starts into a big knocks.

While wickets fell at regular intervals, Baby stood firm, bringing up his 28th first-class fifty.

The scoring rate, however, remained sluggish throughout the day as Kerala crawled to 200 in 86.3 overs, consuming over 470 dot balls.

Gujarat toiled hard, and the crucial strikes and low-scoring run-rate from Kerala definitely kept them in the contest.

With four wickets down, an early breakthrough on day two could tilt the balance in favour of the home side.

Kerala looked to be settling in when left-arm pacer Nagwaswalla broke a promising fourth-wicket partnership, worth 71 runs, cleaning up Jalaj Saxena.

Attempting a late cut off a back-of-a-length delivery, Jalaj only managed to drag the ball onto his stumps. The wicket came just a delivery after he had survived an LBW review.

Baby was highly disciplined in his approach, displaying excellent judgment outside the off-stump and rarely flirting with deliveries in the fourth-stump channel.

The experienced left-hander took his time, grinding out a patient innings against a Gujarat attack that bowled with discipline.

Azharuddeen, Kerala’s second-highest run-getter this season, took 11 deliveries to get off the mark but provided solid support to Baby.

Left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai exploited the rough patches outside off-stump, but Baby remained unperturbed, watching the ball closely and countering spin with a solid defence.

Despite the second new ball being available, Gujarat refrained from taking it, preferring to persist with Desai and Bishnoi in the closing stages of the day, with close-in fielders crowding the batters.

They finally took the second new ball in the 86th over but did not taste any success.

Earlier, Kerala made up a solid start with openers Rohan Kunnummal and Akshay Chandran negotiating the new ball spells of Chintan Gaja and Nagwaswalla without any trouble.

The duo put up a 60-run stand, showing patience against the Gujarat bowlers while capitalising on loose deliveries.

However, Gujarat struck back before the lunch break when a mix-up led to Chandran’s run out for 30 off 71 balls (5×4).

Within four overs, Gujarat struck again when Kunnummal was trapped leg-before by Bishnoi for 30 off 68 balls (5×4) after an unsuccessful DRS review. Kerala, from a steady 60/0, found themselves at 63/2.

The left-right combination had looked comfortable, but the two dismissals came against the run of play, leaving Kerala with two new batters at the crease.

Varun Nayanar’s tentative stay ended at 10, edging Jadeja behind, reducing Kerala to 86/3.

From there, Baby and Jalaj steadied the innings with their cautious partnership, frustrating the Gujarat attack.

Gujarat even lost a review when Bishnoi’s appeal against Jalaj was turned down. 

Mumbai vs Vidarbha

Danish Malewar’s gritty 79 and opener Dhruv Shorey’s attractive 74 made up for a gritty batting show by hosts Vidarbha as they reached 308 for 5 against defending champions Mumbai on the first day of their Ranji Trophy semi-final here on Monday. Karun Nair, who is back in contention for a Test team berth, scored a chiselled 45 before he seemed distinctly unhappy with a caught behind decision of Shivam Dube’s bowling although he had opted for DRS.

While the two-time champions didn’t have a big partnership, they had enough middling stands to see them cross 300-run mark after Mumbai had sent down 88 overs in the day.

Mumbai bowlers were also guilty of bowling as many as 13 no balls during the course of the opening day.

Left-arm spinner Shams Mulani (2/44 in 18 overs) was easily the best bowler on the day as he got appreciable bounce and some amount of purchase from the Jamtha track.

Dube (2/35 in 9 overs) also had a couple wickets but one of them was more so because of a splendid one-handed diving catch by Suryakumar Yadav in the slip cordon.

That Mumbai failed to make more inroads was because the two new ball bowlers Shardul Thakur (0/57 in 14 overs) and Mohit Avasthi (0/61 in 14 overs) were way off the mark with both new ball and second new ball at the fag end of the day.

The morning session belonged to Shorey, who capitalised on the half-volleys provided by Avasthi, who simply doesn’t have the required pace to trouble batters if he doesn’t get to swing the new ball.

As far as Shardul is concerned, he fed Shorey on the legs and got whipped.

It was left-armer Royston Dias, who got the breakthrough with a delivery that climbed on left-hander Atharva Taide (4) as the batter tried to shoulder arms.

Shorey, a former Delhi opener, who hit nine boundaries, added 54 for the second wicket with left-hander Parth Rekhade (23), who was out just before lunch trying to drive Dube but Surya standing at third slip showing brilliant reflexes to pouch it one-handed.

Malewar, who has been Vidarbha’s find of the season, blended caution with aggression after lunch, dominating in his 51-run stand with Shorey.

Shorey, who looked good for a three-figure mark, was finally gone when Mulani got one to jump off length and it turned enough to carry the edge which Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane gleefully accepted.

Nair, who is in fantastic form this season, looked effortless while tackling both Mulani and off-spinner Tanush Kotian en route his 78-run fourth wicket stand with Malewar.

They were ready to use their feet with Malewar hitting the only six off the day off Mulani, who was otherwise in full control.

Nair, who had hit six boundaries, looked in control before a delivery from Dube in the post-tea session moved a shade and was taken by keeper Akash Anand.

While on-field umpire gave it out after some deliberation, Nair asked for review and the decision was upheld.

Malewar’s 159 ball knock ended when he tried to play forward defence to a Mulani delivery that kissed the outside edge into keeper Anand’s gloves.

However the bespectacled pair of left-handed Yash Rathod (47 batting) and skipper Akshay Wadkar (13 batting) added 47 for the unbroken sixth wicket to take the total past 300-run mark.

Hosts Gujarat are unlikely to digress from their tried and tested template of out-batting oppositions with dogged first innings displays as they take on a gutsy Kerala in their Ranji Trophy semi-final beginning here on Monday. Gujarat, the champions of the 2016-17 edition, advanced to the semifinals for the first time since the 2019-20 season after thrashing Saurashtra by an innings and 98 runs in the quarter-finals in Rajkot. The victory was built on a formidable middle order performance featuring Manan Hingrajia, Jaymeet Patel, and keeper Urvil Patel, who form the core of their batting unit this season.

Fresh from his maiden first-class hundred with 140 runs, Urvil led Gujarat’s charge in an imposing first innings total of 511, while Jaymeet contributed a crucial century.

Jaymeet has been their top run-getter this season with 582 runs at an average of 48.50 — including two centuries and four fifties.

Close on his heels with 570 runs, Hingrajia has also been consistent with two tons as he also contributed to their batting dominance against their state-rivals.

On the other hand, it’s been an emotional journey for the Sachin Baby’s Kerala, who secured their second semi-final berth (since 2018-19) after a hard-fought quarterfinal against Jammu & Kashmir that came via a slender one-run first innings lead.

Set a challenging target of 399, Kerala showed remarkable patience on the final day to bat out and force a draw and result on their first innings lead.

A crucial seventh-wicket partnership of 115 runs between Salman Nizar (unbeaten on 44 off 162 balls) and Mohammed Azharuddeen (67 not out off 118 balls), proved decisive in grinding down the opposition’s attack.

Thalassery’s Nizar has been the man in form for Kerala this season. He struck a first inning century, an unbeaten 112, as his form would be crucial as Kerala would look to continue their dream run.

MD Nidheesh has been the spearhead of Kerala’s bowling attack.

It was he who led the demolition of Jammu and Kashmir, claiming an impressive 10 wickets in the quarter-final match.

Now, he would look to work his magic once again, aiming to outfox the Gujarat batters with his pinpoint line and length, diverse variations, and lethal outswingers.

He has already picked up 22 wickets this season.

Domestic stalwart Jalaj Saxena, who has more than 6900 runs and 470 wickets in first-class cricket, will also look to make a statement for Kerala.

The 38-year-old has emerged as their leading wicket-taker with 34 scalps at an eye-catching average of 16.84 with his spin bowling.

Additionally, the Madhya Pradesh veteran has contributed valuable runs with the bat, notching up two fifties to bring his season tally to 271 runs at an average of 30.11.

A true utility player for Kerala, Saxena has consistently delivered crucial performances including his match-winning haul of 10 wickets — five in each innings — against Bihar paved the way for an innings and 169-run victory, sealing their berth in the quarter-finals.

Teams:

Gujarat: Priyank Panchal, Aarya Desai, Siddharth Desai, Manan Hingrajia, Jaymeet Patel, Urvil Patel (wk), Chintan Gaja(c), Vishal Jayswal, Ravi Bishnoi, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Priyajitsing Jadeja, Rishi Patel, Aditya Udaykumar Patel, Rinkesh Vaghela, Umang Kumar, Tejas Patel, Hemang Patel, Het Patel, Kshitij Patel.

Kerala: Akshay Chandran, Rohan Kunnummal, Shoun Roger, Sachin Baby (c), Jalaj Saxena, Salman Nizar, Mohammed Azharuddeen (w), Aditya Sarwate, MD Nidheesh, Nedumankuzhy Basil, Basil Thampi, Vaisakh Chandran, Baba Aparajith, Vishnu Vinod, KM Asif, Fazil Fanoos, Vathsal Govind, Krishna Prasad and Anand Krishnan. 

Sanju Samson will also miss Kerala’s final Group C match against Bihar.© AFP