Vidarbha Vs Kerala Live Score Ranji Trophy Final Day 1: Karun Nair Falls As VID Lose Four
Vidarbha vs Kerala Ranji Trophy Final Day 1 Live Score: Vidarbha have recovered from the early jolts of the morning session thanks to a big century stand between Danish Malewar and Karun Nair for the fourth wicket.
Two-time champions Vidarbha take on first-time finalists Kerala in the title clash of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 in Nagpur.
Kerala has had an impressive season, reaching the semifinals for the second time in their history, previously achieving this milestone in the 2018-19 season. However, they have never advanced beyond this stage since then. But, under the guidance of head coach Amay Khurasiya, the team broke this long-standing barrier and made history by reaching their first-ever Ranji Trophy final after taking a slim two-run first-innings lead against Gujarat.
En route to the final, Kerala drew all four of their group-stage matches, facing Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bengal, and Karnataka and advanced to the knockout stage.
The Sachin Bay-led team then drew their quarterfinal match against Jammu and Kashmir, progressing to their second-ever semifinal with a first-innings lead. They secured their maiden final berth with a dramatic win in the semifinal.
Kerala’s run to the final has been dotted with key performances from their 38-year-old veteran Jalaj Saxena and Salman Nizar. Saxena completed the rare Ranji double of 6000 runs and 400 wickets earlier in the season, while Nizar has been their highest run-getter with 607 runs at an average of 86.71. Fast bowler MD Nidheesh has become a formidable force and even took a match haul of ten wickets in the quarterfinal.
On the other hand, this will be Vidarbha’s fourth Ranji Trophy final and the second on the trot. The Akshay Wadkar-led side, who have remained unbeaten this year, would like to make amends from last year’s final, where they lost against Mumbai. Interestingly, they secured a commanding 80-run victory over 42-time champions Mumbai to reach the final.
Vidarbha have won five of their seven group stage matches with two ending up in a draw. In the quarterfinal, they defeated Tamil Nadu by an innings and 88 runs, followed by their win over Mumbai in the semis.
Full Squads
Vidarbha: Akshay Wadkar (captain and wicketkeeper), Atharva Taide, Dhruv Shorey, Parth Rekhade, Danish Malewar, Karun Nair, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Thakur, Akshay Wakhare, Akshay Karnewar, Siddhesh Wath, Aditya Thakare, Shubham Kapse, Aman Mokhade, Mandar Mahale, Yash Kadam, Praful Hinge, Umesh Yadav
Kerala: Sachin Baby (captain), Akshay Chandran, Rohan Kunnummal, Varun Nayanar, Jalaj Saxena, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wicketkeeper), Salman Nizar, Ahammed Imran, Aditya Sarwate, MD Nidheesh, Nedumankuzhy Basil, Basil Thampi, Vishnu Vinod, Baba Aparajith, Fazil Fanoos, Vathsal Govind, Shoun Roger, Vaisakh Chandran, Krishna Prasad, Anand Krishnan, KM Asif