Ranji Trophy drama: Kerala virtually in final after securing two-run lead over Gujarat
Streaks of impetuousness and a truckload of nerves were laid bare on the field as Kerala and Gujarat’s block-buster Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad confirmed an outright leader on the fifth morning. With only 28 runs and three wickets to play with, Kerala’s trusted lieutenants Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarvate pulled up their socks and lengths to propel their adopted state team towards their first Ranji Trophy final in 74 years since the side first appeared in the prestigious tournament in 1951-52.
In their 352nd Ranji appearance, Kerala’s immense resolve under coach Amay Khurasiya and skipper Sachin Baby drafted the golden final berth after the side saw off Gujarat’s lower-order rearguard during the pursuit of a 457-run first-innings score. By securing a two-run first innings lead at the half-way stage of the final day’s play, Kerala virtually secured a place in the final where they are expected to play Vidarbha.
It all boiled down to that one run, Kerala’s favoured mind-numbing zone of the season. The same significant one run that Salman Nizar and Nidheesh MD miraculously manufactured in Pune last week. Only a swipe away from securing qualification, No. 10 Arzan Nagwaswalla’s forceful slog-sweep culminated with a symbolic finish – a rebound off their star-batter Salman Nizar’s head at silly point and captain Sachin Baby’s palms at first slip.
Despite blunting Kerala’s spin advances on day four evening with the admirable measure in defence and running between the wickets, Jaymeet Patel and Siddharth Desai’s fortitude wavered under mounting pressure.
After building a chanceless knock throughout on the might of singles, Jaymeet stepped into a reckless zone when he advanced to a loopy Sarvate delivery and chopped the ball to Baby who let a regulation catch off the hooks at cover. Moments later, Jaymeet lunged a touch forward, only to leave a track for wicket-keeper Mohammed Azharuddeen to pursue. Beaten outside off, Azharuddeen’s nimble collection and flick stumped Jaymeet with his backfoot on the line of the crease. An animated Kerala dugout soon emerged on the sidelines with hope reposted with a struggling Sarvate regaining composure.
Changing ends, the left-arm spinner soon slid one into Desai’s pads with the ball popping up to silly point, prompting the umpire to raise his finger for a catch. Though Desai heaved a sigh of relief after the DRS showed no spikes, the TV umpire Saidarshan Kumar offered a twist with Desai’s feet falling in line of the stumps. Three reds and the southpaw’s 164-ball resistance was packed off with the finish line 11 runs away.
The last pair of Nagwaswalla and Priyajitsinh Jadeja held the fort and trickled the deficit before the typical tail-end wantonness kicked into Nagwaswalla’s muscles.
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