Ranji Trophy final: Sarwate keeps Kerala in the hunt after Vidarbha posts 379

Aditya Sarwate shines for Kerala against former team Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy final at VCA Stadium.

There is something about Aditya Sarwate, Ranji Trophy final and the VCA Stadium.

He was the player-of-the-match for Vidarbha in the 2018-19 final here. Six years later, he is playing an innings that could go some way in deciding another final. Except that he is playing against Vidarbha now.

Sarwate, coming in at one-drop for the first time, batted with grit, as well as some flair, to lead Kerala’s reply to Vidarbha’s first innings score of 379. His new side finished the second day on Thursday at 131 for three -- a considerable improvement from 14 for two.

Kerala will want Sarwate to bat for long on the third day. After Darshan Nalkande yorked the openers Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal, it was his third-wicket partnership of 93 with the young Ahammed Imran (37) that steadied the Kerala innings.

But, Imran was guilty of playing according to Vidarbha’s plan: he pulled Yash Thakur’s short ball to the fielder at mid-wicket who was placed for just that shot. The 18-year-old, however, had been batting sensibly and responsibly till then.

Sarwate continued his vigil. And his drives on the off-side were delightful.

Earlier, Vidarbha’s hopes of making a massive first-innings total were dashed by the Kerala seamers. After resuming at the overnight 254 for four, the host suffered a major setback when Danish Malewar (153, 285b, 15x4, 3x6) was bowled through the gate – a big one at that – by N.P. Basil, who got one to nip back to clip the off stump.