Ranji Trophy 2018-19, Semifinals, Day 2 - Review

Defending champions Vidarbha have their eyes well set on another title as they stormed into the final of the Ranji Trophy yet again on Friday. It took them just two days to get past Kerala and they will now have to wait for another couple of days or more to see who they will face in the final.

Resuming at 171/5, Vidarbha were bundled out very soon with Sandeep Warrier doing the damage for Kerala. The young speedster picked up three more wickets, adding to the two he took earlier, and that helped Kerala ignite some hopes for themselves in the game. Vidarbha were bowled out for 208 runs and held a 102-run lead at this point.

After sending Ponnam Rahul and Mohammed Azharuddeen to open in the first innings, the hosts sent in Arun Karthik and Jalaj Saxena in the second innings, a move which made very little sense. Karthik got off to a flying start, but Yash Thakur and Umesh Yadav had other ideas.

Umesh Yadav registered figures of 5/31 and Yash Thakur returned with 4/28 these two ensured Kerala crumble for 91 runs. Vidarbha claimed an innings victory to barge into the finals and Umesh was awarded the Man of the Match for his 12 wickets in the game.

Brief Scores

Kerala first innings: 106 all out in 28.4 overs (Vishnu Vinod 37*; Umesh Yadav 7/48, Rajneesh Gurbani 3/38)

Vidarbha first innings: 208 all out in 52.4 overs (Faiz Fazal 75, Wasim Jaffer 34; Sandeep Warrier 5/57)

Kerala second innings: 91 all out in 24.5 overs (Arun Karthik 36; Umesh Yadav 5/31, Yash Thakur 4/28)

Vidarbha won by an innings and 11 runs

Ronit More brings Karnataka back in the game

It didn’t take long for Karnataka to lose their final wicket and they added just 11 runs to their overnight tally. Despite getting off to a horrendous start, to have finished with 275 runs was a decent effort and gave them great confidence to fight for a crucial first innings lead.

Saurashtra’s strong batting line-up was not going to make the hosts’ job easy and Snell Patel’s blazing 85 blew away their new ball bowlers. Chesteshwar Pujara and Sheldon Jackson chipped in with crucial contributions, but both fell short of their fifties. At 223/4, it seemed like the visiting side will easily gain a first-innings lead.

Ronit More had other ideas though as he picked up some quick wickets and kept Saurashtra at bay. He got three in quick succession and completed a 5-fer, which made Manish Pandey‘s side the favorites to take the lead.

Brief Scores

Karnataka first innings: 275 in 100.3 overs (Manish Pandey 62, Shreyas Gopal 87, Srinivas Sharath 83*; Jaydev Unadkat 4/56)

Saurashtra first innings: 227/7 in 66.3 overs (Snell Patel 85; Ronit More 5/54)

Saurashtra trail by 48 runs

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