Kerala all but secured a spot in the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy final by the barest of margins, dismissing Gujarat to earn a two-run first innings lead after a freak last-wicket dismissal.
For the first time ever, Kerala look set to enter the Ranji Trophy final, securing a spot with a dramatic turn of events in Ahmedabad. Having scored 457 in the first innings, they managed to bowl out Gujarat for 455, the two-run lead. In Ranji knockout matches, if there's no outright winner, the team with the highest first-innings score is declared the winner. With less than a day to play for and two innings to play, Kerala technically sealed the spot.
It comes on the back of another narrow victory in the quarter-final: against Jammu & Kashmir, they snatched a one-run lead which proved pivotal at the end.
1st Semi-Final, Gujarat vs Kerala
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It wasn't just the margin but the manner in which they clinched it: No.10 Arzan Nagwaswalla, facing left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate, had a slip and short-leg around him. At this time, Gujarat's deficit was exactly two runs.
In an attempt to hoick the ball to the leg-side, Nagwaswalla ended up smashing it onto short-leg's helmet. The ball ballooned up, and was happily taken by captain Sachin Baby at first slip, sparking celebrations among Kerala players. Until then, it had been a brave resistance by the last Gujarat pair, having survived 10.2 overs, inching them closer to a spot in the final.
Later, it came to be known that Salman Nizar, the short-leg fielder, had to be taken to hospital, getting stretchered off to the ambulance stationed at the stadium. However, the Kerala management assured it was just a precautionary move.
Earlier, there was a controversy in the match regarding Gujarat's use of a concussion substitute, replacing a tailender with an all-rounder.
In the other semi-final, Vidarbha and Mumbai are locked in action, with Mumbai being given a target of 406.
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