Ranji Trophy: Kerala books title clash with Vidarbha by barest of margins

Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 21 : Kerala made history in Ahmedabad, securing their first-ever appearance in the Ranji Trophy finals after a win on the basis of first innings lead against Gujarat on Friday. On the other hand, Vidarbha outclassed defending champions Mumbai to secure an 80-run win in Nagpur.
For Kerala, this run till the Ranji final has been a dream run achieved by the barest of margins. Kerala made it to the semifinals because they had an extremely narrow but difference-making one-run lead over Jammu and Kashmir that helped them move ahead despite the drawn match.
In the semifinals, on the final day of the match against Gujarat, they kept their first innings lead intact by two runs before drawing the match.
Coming to Kerala's match at Nagpur, they had won the toss and opted to bat first. Having lost half their side for 206 runs despite skipper Sachin Baby (69 in 195 balls, with eight fours) half-century, a memorable century from Mohammed Azharuddeen (177* in 341 balls, with 20 fours and a six) and a half-century by Salman Nizar (52 in 202 balls, with four boundaries and a six) took them to 457 runs, with a 149-run stand between Nizar and Azharuddeen putting Kerala ahead.
Arzan Nagwaswalla (3/81) and Chintan Gaja (2/75) were the pick of the bowlers for Gujarat.
Gujarat responded well, with experienced batter Priyank Panchal (148 in 237 balls, with 18 fours and a six) putting his team along with important contributions from Jaymeet Patel (79 in 177 balls, with two fours) and Aarya Desai (73 in 118 balls, with 11 fours and a six). However, on the final day, the equation went down to Kerala needing a wicket and Gujarat needing three runs to take the lead. Arzan's catch went into skipper Sachin's hands, giving Aditya Sarwate (4/111) the prized wicket that sealed Kerala's spot in the final.
Later, Kerala ended the match at 114/4, with Jalaj Saxena (37* in 90 balls, with seven fours) and Ahammed Imran (14*) staying unbeaten. Kerala managed to win the match because of their first innings lead.
Shifting the action to Nagpur, featuring a star-studded Mumbai, Vidarbha won the toss and elected to bat first. The fifties from Dhruv Shorey (74 in 109 balls, with nine fours), Danish Malewar (79 in 157 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Yash Rathod (54 in 113 balls, with six fours) took Vidarbha to 383, with Shivam Dube's figures of 5/49 standing out among bowlers.
Despite a century from Akash Anand (106 in 256 balls, with 11 fours), Mumbai could pile up only 270 runs, as stars like skipper Ajinkya Rahane (18), Suryakumar Yadav, Dube (0 each), and Shardul Thakur (37 in 41 balls, with four boundaries and a six) failed to deliver. Parth Rekhade (4/55) flattened Mumbai's batting with his spin. Vidarbha led by 113 runs.
In the second innings, Vidarbha responded poorly and was at 56/4, but Yash (151 in 252 balls, with 11 fours) and skipper Akshay Wadkar (52 in 202 balls, with five fours) helped Vidarbha push to 292 runs, with Shams Mulani (6/85) and Tanush Kotian (3/81) taking the bulk of wickets.
Mumbai was tasked with chasing 405 runs to win, and at 124/6, they looked pretty much out. However, Mulani (46 in 94 balls, with two fours), Thakur (66 in 124 balls, with five fours and a six) and Kotian (26 in 34 balls, with three fours) fought well. Also, tail-enders Mohit Avasthi (34 in 43 balls, with four boundaries and a six) and Royston Dias (23* in 26 balls, with a four and six) also did their bit, but Mumbai could make only 325 runs.
Harsh Dubey (5/127) destroyed the Mumbai's top and middle order.