Ranji trophy: Kerala make history, set up title clash with Vidarbha

Shardul Thakur scored a valiant fifty but it was left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey who stole the limelight with a brilliant five-wicket haul as Vidarbha secured a commanding 80-run victory over defending champions Mumbai to reach the Ranji Trophy final here on Friday.

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In a thrilling final day, Dubey, the 22-year-old from Pune, claimed three wickets to add to his two from Day 4. His match-winning performance helped Vidarbha, last year’s finalists, bowl out Mumbai for 325 while chasing a challenging target of 406. This marks Vidarbha’s fourth appearance in the Ranji Trophy final, with previous titles coming in 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Dubey took his season’s tally to 66 wickets, just two shy of Bihar left-arm spinner Ashutosh Aman’s record for the most wickets in a season.

2-run lead

Ahmedabad: A resilient Kerala sealed a place in their maiden Ranji Trophy final by taking a dramatic two-run first-innings lead over Gujarat, 68 years after making their debut in India’s premier domestic event.

Going into the final day at 429/7, Gujarat, who won the Ranji title in 2016-17, needed just 29 runs to take the first innings lead. However, left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate delivered under pressure, taking all three wickets to bowl Gujarat out for 455 in 174.4 overs and leave them two runs short of the mark.

It was only Kerala’s second semifinal appearance.

Brief scores: Vidarbha: 383 & 292 vs Mumbai: 270 & 325 all out in 97.5 overs (Thakur 66, Mulani 46; Dubey 5/127); Kerala: 457 & 114/4 in 46 overs (Saxena 37*; Hingrajia 2/22) vs Gujarat: 455 all out in 174.4 overs (Panchal 148, Patel 79, Desai 73; Sarwate 4/111, Saxena 4/149).