Vidarbha fought their way to a position of advantage against Mumbai, while Gujarat forced their way close towards the driving seat against Kerala after Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy semi-finals. There were sub-plots and characters, who seized their moments to propel their teams forward. However, it was far from over in both venues, with two more days to go.
Vidarbha vs Mumbai, VCA Stadium, Nagpur
After a long time, a specialist batter led Mumbai’s rearguard act. Playing his fourth game at this level, wicketkeeper-opener Akash Anand converted his overnight 67 to 106. His team finished at 270, from 118/6. Anand shared stands of 60 for the seventh wicket with Shardul Thakur (37) and 69 with Tanush Kotian (33) for the eighth. He was the ninth batter out and Mumbai wouldn’t have been too unhappy to concede a lead of 113, considering their state at one stage.
The 42-time champions came back strongly by reducing Vidarbha to 56/4 after 21 overs. Among the players dismissed were Dhruv Shorey and Karun Nair. The hosts once again changed their batting order and sent Danish Malware at No. 3. The move didn’t click. After Shardul Thakur struck in the first over, Shams Mulani took two wickets and Kotian one to bring Mumbai back.
Karun Nair has been the most talked-about Vidarbha batter this season, mainly because of extraordinary run in the one-dayers. When it comes to the longer version, Yash Rathod is the most standout performer by a distance. The bespectacled left-hander had a tally of 700-plus with four centuries before this match. The 24-year-old remained unbeaten on 59 and added 91 runs in a yet unbroken stand with Akshay Wadkar. A lead of 260 for Vidarbha means Mumbai have work to do.
Brief scores: Vidarbha 383 & 147/4 (Yash Rathod 59 batting) vs Mumbai 270 (Akash Anand 106, Parth Rekhade 4/55).
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Gujarat vs Kerala, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
Priyank Panchal was not having a good season. Overshadowed by his younger teammates, the opener had a tally of 285 from 10 innings before this game. The player turning 35 in April roared back at the right time to lead a strong Gujarat reply against Kerala’s 457. Panchal played second fiddle in an opening-wicket stand of 131 with Aarya Desai (73) and then dominated the attack. Thanks to his unbeaten 117, the home team ended the day at 222/1.
Kerala wanted to prolong their innings for as long as possible, but lost the three remaining wickets quickly. Mohammed Azharuddeen remained unbeaten on 177. However, the first-choice wicketkeeper didn’t field and Varun Nayanar became the centre of attention in the 60th over of the Gujarat innings bowled by Jalaj Saxena. He could not hold onto a deflection off Panchal’s bat. To be fair, it was less than half a chance. Two balls later, he dropped the left-handed Manan Hingrajia.
Panchal and the left-handed Desai started on a positive note and hit boundaries at regular intervals in the first few overs. Desai was the elegant one and played a few well-timed punches down the ground. Panchal opened up after the fall of his wicket and brought up his 29th first-class century by lifting left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate over the long-on fence.
Brief scores: Kerala 457 (Mohammed Azharuddeen 177 not out, Arzan Nagaswalla 3/81) vs Gujarat 222/1 (Priyank Panchal 117 batting, Aarya Desai 73).
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