Brilliant Jaymeet takes Gujarat to threshold of first innings lead against Kerala
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Jaymeet Patel scored a valiant fifty to get Gujarat close to taking the vital first-innings lead against Kerala on Thursday, Day 4 of the Ranji Trophy semifinals in Ahmedabad. Gujarat were 429/7 at stumps on the penultimate day, trailing by just 28 runs in response to Kerala’s first innings total of 457.
While Kerala's spin department, led by veteran Jalaj Saxena, dominated the first two sessions on the day, Gujarat launched a counter, not by playing big shots but by biding their time in the middle. Jaymeet played 161 deliveries for his 72 not out, while Siddharth Desai played the perfect partner with an unbeaten 24 off 134 deliveries. At 22, left-hander Jaymeet is having a remarkable debut season in the Ranji. He has scored five fifties and two centuries already.
Jaymeet and Desai faced 220 deliveries for their 72-run stand, which has almost put out Kerala’s hope of securing a handy first-innings lead. If the match ends in a draw, the team with the lead will advance to the final. Kerala had done the same to Jammu and Kashmir in the quarterfinals, where they secured a 1-run lead.
Gujarat's eighth-wicket stand toyed with Kerala bowlers. Only two boundaries were made in the last 60 overs, while 62 singles and 12 doubles were scored, which slowly but steadily narrowed down Kerala’s lead. From 325/5 at lunch, Gujarat added 102 runs and, more importantly, lost only two wickets.
Earlier, Gujarat resumed at 222/1, with Priyank Panchal going strong at 117 and Manan Hingrajia standing firm at 30. But Saxena struck thrice in the first session and added a fourth shortly after the lunch break. The 38-year-old guest player took a wicket in just the fifth over of the day by trapping Hingrajia leg before. It took them a review to turn the decision in their favour, but Kerala found a chunk in the armour and went for it.
Kerala skipper Sachin Baby operated spin from both ends after a couple of overs of pace as Aditya Sarwate joined Saxena with his left-arm spin. The reward was the prized wicket of Panchal, castled by Saxena. Kerala turned the screw further, and Urvil Patel panicked and got stumped. The wicket of the quarterfinal centurion put Kerala back in command.
Kerala re-introduced left-arm spinner Akshay Chandran, giving them plenty of variety to their liking. Gujarat brought in Hemang Patel as a concussion substitute for spinner Ravi Bishnoi who sustained an injury on his face while fielding. But the return of pacer M D Nidheesh ended Hemang's cameo at 27, putting Gujarat in trouble.
Mohammed Azharuddeen's unbeaten 177 was the highlight of Kerala's defiant first innings that went at a snail's pace, with a run rate under 2.5 over two full days and the first session on day three. Kerala are playing in the semifinals of the Ranji Trophy only for the second time ever since 2018-19. Sanju Samson, Kerala's only active international, is not part of the squad as he is recovering from a fracture on his index finger sustained during India's T20I home series against England.
Brief scores: Kerala 457 vs Gujarat 429/7 in 154 overs (Priyank Panchal 148, Jaymeet Patel 74 not out, Aarya Desai 73, Manan Hingrajia 33, Siddharth Desai 24 not out, Jalaj Saxena 4/137) Stumps Day 4