Vidarbha vs Kerala Highlights, Ranji Trophy Final 2025 Day 2: Sarwate fifty takes KER to 131/3; VID 379 all out

Vidarbha vs Kerala Highlights, Ranji Trophy Final 2025 Day 2: Sarwate fifty takes KER to 131/3; VID 379 all out

After an engrossing second day, the match is interestingly poised. Kerala owes it to a former Vidarbha player Sarwate for staying alive in the final against Vidarbha. The all-rounder will return tomorrow to resume what should be one of the best innings of his career. It was his third-wicket stand with the young Ahammed Imran that took Kerala out of trouble, following the loss of the openers early on.

– P.K. Ajith Kumar

Akshay Karnewar comes in for his first over of the game. Sachin cuts a short ball through point for a single on the last ball.

STUMPS DAY 2

Four!! A late, late cut from Sarwate against Rekhade, beats the slip fielder and short third and gets to the boundary. 

Four!! Full outside off, Sarwate opens his wrist and guides it past gully to the fence for four. 

Nachiket Bhute replaces Thakur. Sachin flicks a back-of-length ball to deep fine for a single, legbyes given. 

Outside edge and four!! Sachin gets the rub of the green against Harsh Dubey, the ball goes between keeper and slip and runs away. Seven from the over. 

Short ball from Thakur, Sarwate puts his hands up and defends. Cops a hit on the gloves. 

Sarwate guides one with the turn to point to pick up a single against Harsh. Four!! Thakur goes short Imran pulls it through square leg for a boundary. WICKET!! The short ball ploy works. Imran pulls this straight down the throat of midwicket. 

Ahammed Imran c sub (Aman Mokhade) b Yash Thakur 37

Sachin Baby in at 5. Huge appeals for LBW but the siren goes off for a no-ball. 

Harsh continues. Two singles from the over. Thakur with his fifth over, full on leg stump, appeals for lbw but there was bat involved. A single brings up Sarwate’s fifty!

Kerala also brings up its 100 after another Sarwate single to deep square. 

Harsh with his tenth over. Imran steps down and defends to the right of short leg. Four!! Steps down the track again, lofts it over mid on and to the fence for a boundary. 

Thakur replaces Nalkande. Pacy from Thakur, Imran is late in bringing the bat down, almost inside edges one onto the stumps. Players take drinks as Imran gets his hip treated after the blow. 

Harsh to Sarwate, down leg, batter looks to help it on its way but doesn’t make contact. Whips the last ball of the over to midwicket for a single. 

Nalkande continues. Four!! Overpitched outside off, driven through extra cover for a boundary. Four!! Back of a length outside off, this time he rocks back and punches it through point for another four. Textbook batting from Sarwate. 

Maiden over by Harsh. Significant turn in that over. Kerala will be hoping to counter the deterioration with some quick runs. 

Short from Nalkande, pulled through square leg but a good effort in the deep from Harsh prevents a certain boundary. Appeals for a catch as Imran looks to bend and pull a short ball behind square. Not given by the umpire. 

Imran steps down the track and whips the first ball of Harsh’s next over to long on for a single. Three from the over. 

Nalkande back into the attack. Beats Imran’s outside edge. Maiden over. 

Tight over from Harsh, concedes just two runs off it. Four!! Full from Rekhade, Imran brings out the sweep and finds the boundary through forward square leg. 

Harsh returns after Tea. Sarwate rock solid in defence, prods fully forward to smother the turn. Maiden over. 

Rekhade from the other end. Imran pushes one to deep point for a couple. A forward press and another run to point for the southpaw. Four!! Slightly down leg, Sarwate helps it down leg with a sweep through fine leg. 50-run partnership between the two.

Kerala has done well to consolidate its reply after both the openers, Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal, were yorked by Darshan Nalkande. Aditya Sarwate was promoted up the order and he celebrated his return to familiar turf with some firm drives. The veteran all-rounder, playing his second straight final (the last one was for Vidarbha though), and the young Ahammed Imran have calmed the nerves a bit in the Kerala dressing room.

– P.K. Ajith Kumar

Sarwate punches a full ball from Harsh through cover for a single. Just a solitary run from the over. 

Parth Rekhade into the attack. Bowling it full outside off from around the wicket against Imran. Appeals for lbw against Imran but looked like it was going with the angle away from offstump. 

TEA DAY 2

Dubey gets one to turn viciously from outside off, Sarwate has a stare at the pitch. Punches the next delivery to deep point for a single. Brings up the 50 for the team.

Four!! Full and wide from Bhute, Sarwate slaps it through the covers for a boundary. Back of a length on the pads, flicked to deep square. 

Harsh Dubey into the attack. Sarwate whips the first ball through square leg off the backfoot to pick up a couple. 

Dropped!! Bhute induces Imran’s edge but Atharva Taide drops it at second slip. Dived in front of Karun at first but couldn’t hold on. Four!! Edged but Sarwate had played it with soft hands, runs away to the fence through third-man. 

Nalkande with his fourth over. Back of a length angled away, guided to third man. Sarwate flicks a full ball to wide mid on for a single. No-ball called. Sarwate punches off the backfoot for another single to mid off. 

Nachiket Bhute replaces Thakur. Back of a length outside off to Imran, jabbed past backward point for a double. Inside edge….but trickles to short square leg. Imran opts against the single.

Nalkande sends down a maiden over against Imran. Four!! After missing his lengths in the first two overs of his spell, Thakur pulls his length back, but is punched through the covers for another four by Sarwate.

Imran gets off strike with a push to midwicket. Four!! Over-pitched outside off, Sarwate drives past mid off for a boundary. Four!!! Another action replay shot, driven to the boundary. Thakur goes short, Sarwate happy to duck under it. 

WICKET!! Another yorker-length ball from Nalkande, Chandran looks to drive, but inside edges it onto the stumps. 

Akshay Chandran b Nalkande 14

Ahammed Imran in at 4. Gets a single to third man to get off the mark. 

Yash Thakur from the other end. Four!! Full on the pads, clipped fine to the boundary. Four!! Full on the stumps again, easy pickings for Akshay, flicked square for another four. Four!! Make that three boundaries in the over, through square leg again. 

Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal walk out to open for Kerala in pursuit of Vidarbha’s 379. Darshan Nalkande with the new ball. 

Akshay gets off the mark with a jab to deep third man. WICKET!! Early strike for Vidarbha! A searing yorker cleans up Kunnummal for nought. 

Rohan Kunnummal b Nalkande 0

Aditya Sarwate in at 3. 

Nidheesh resumes after the Lunch interval. Three singles from the over. Aditya Sarwate comes on for his first over of the day. Bhute drives a full ball to long off for a single. Three from his over too. 

Nidheesh picks up the last wicket. Back of a length in the corridor outside off, catches the edge and Azhar completes the catch. 

Nachiket Bhute c Mohammed Azharuddeen b Nidheesh 32

After a less-than-satisfactory opening day, Kerala is inching its way back. Sachin Baby’s men bowled and fielded with vigour and purpose to take five wickets in the first session, which, like it did yesterday, encouraged the seamers. N.P. Basil and the young Eden Apple Tom bowled impressively, but the last wicket pair of Harsh Dubey and Nachiket Bhute are prolonging the Vidarbha innings.

Basil NP back into the attack. Bhute flings his hands at a short-of-length ball, the edge flies to deep third for a single. The two batters have waded through the extra half hour of play. LUNCH DAY 2

Six!! Jalaj to Bhute, full on off stump, lofted straight back over the bowler’s head for six! 350 up for Vidarbha! Reverse sweep out now, only a single. Four!! Harsh Dubey brings out the sweep and finds the boundary through forward square. 

Six!! Bhute slog sweeps Jalaj over midwicket for another huge six! 

Bhute pushes a shortish ball from Jalaj to point to pick up a couple. Fuller in length, Bhute gets a single to point. Harsh jams his bat down and gets a single to short third. 

Four!! Full on the pads to Bhute from Eden, flicked fine through fine leg for a boundary. 

Wadkar gets an inside edge against Jalaj with a short leg in place, but its just past the grasp of the fielder. Jalaj needing some medical intervention after an injury to his bowling finger. 

Eden replaces Nidheesh. WICKET!! There goes the captain! Extra bounce and Wadkar looks to cut, edges it to the keeper. 

Akshay Wadkar c Mohammed Azharuddeen b Eden Apple Tom 23

Nachiket Bhute in at 11. 

WICKET!! Karnewar goes for a drive against Jalaj. Another diving catch from Kunnummal!

Akshay Karnewar c Kunnummal b Jalaj S Saxena 12

Huge appeals for lbw against Harsh Dubey on his first ball. Not given onfield. Review taken. Played for the turn against a ball that came in with the angle. Wickets missing on ball tracking and the original decision stays. 

Nidheesh continues. Wadkar inside edges an overpitched ball onto his pads. Appeals for caught behind against Wadkar, umpire says no. Kerala has only one review left and opt not to take it. Replays show a clear gap. 

Jalaj into the attack. First over of spin on day two. Appeal for a runout but Karnewar had made his crease after Wadkar defends a full ball to point. 

Nidheesh replaces Basil. Wadkar flicks a full ball through the legside for a couple. Six!! Basil almost holds on to Wadkar’s fierce cut shot at deep third. Goes all the way for six. Four!! Wadkar moves across and flicks a length ball fine to the boundary for four. Came off his thigh pad infact. 

Eden goes short, Karnewar looks to shoulder arms but the ball passes right next to his gloves on the way to the keeper. Azharuddeen takes a hit to his finger after another Eden short ball. Physio on the ground to take a look. 

Short and wide, Wadkar mistimes his cut shot to deep point for a single. Four!! Luck favours Karnewar. Inside edge on a back of a length ball, runs through fine leg for a boundary. 

Four!! Full outside off, Karnewar goes for an expansive drive, but the edge flies past gully to the boundary. 

A couple of singles from Eden’s next. Appeals for lbw against Karnewar, angled into the left-hander by Basil, drifting down leg. Wadkar is beaten on the outside edge now, looked to prod forward and defend. Good spell here from the Kerala pacers. 

Eden back for his second spell of the day. WICKET!! BIG WICKET! Rathod edges one to slip, where Kunnummal takes a good low catch. Two in a trice for Kerala.

Yash Rathod c Kunnummal b Eden Apple Tom 3

Akshay Karnewar in at 9. Back of a length, jumps on the batter. Hits the shoulder of that bat but falls safely. 

Four!! Slightly wide from Basil, Wadkar punches on the up, fielder looks to chase it down but hits the boundary ropes. 300 up for Vidarbha!

Nidheesh to Thakur, short ball on the body, rises up and hits Thakur high on the bat. Just a single off the over. 

WICKET!! Basil picks up his second. Another one that moves in after pitching, strikes Thakur right in front. Plumb and he doesn’t review as well. 

Yash Thakur lbw b Basil 25

Nidheesh goes short to Yash Thakur, mistimes his pull, but the timing was so poor that the ball falls inside the 30-yard circle. Rathod gets a double to deep square leg.

Full on the stumps from Basil, too straight and must be going down leg against Thakur. Outside edge off Rathod, but once again falls well ahead of the gully fielder. 

Nidheesh manages to get Thakur’s outside edge again, falls short of the fielder at gully. A single brings up the fifty-stand between the two.

WICKET!! Finally Kerala has a breakthrough. Malewar is beaten through the gate. End of a solid knock!

Danish Malewar b Basil 153

Yash Rathod in at 7. 

Full on off from Nidheesh, takes Thakur’s outside edge but falls short of the fielder at gully. Just a single from the over. 

Basil throws one wide outside off, Thakur looks to go after it but doesn’t make contact. Flicks the next one to deep square for a single. 

Nidheesh continues to bowl on middle and leg. Three easy singles from the over. 

NP Basil into the attack. Outside off stump, Thakur lets it go. Fuller in length on off, Thakur drives it straight to cover. Takes a single with a flick to short midwicket. 

Better line from Nidheesh this over. Beats Thakur’s outside edge on two consecutive balls. Strays legside and Thakur picks up a single. Danish gets an outside edge that trickles to deep third and picks up a single. 

Danish creams a straight drive against Eden but hits it straight at the non-striker stumps. Four! Short of a length on the hip, helped through fine leg for a boundary. Full om middle stump to Thakur, clipped to midwicket for a single. Six!! Short ball, Danish pulls handsomely and deposits it over the fence. 150 up for the 21-year-old!

MD Nidheesh to open the bowling for Kerala. Four!! Full on the stumps, lofted over short midwicket for a boundary! What a way to start the day from Yash Thakur. 

Eden Apple Tom from the other end. Full on the stumps, clips the pads on the way to fine leg. Stifled appeals but clearly missing leg. Four!! Full on the pads again, Thakur flicks it through forward square leg for four. 

Photo: Nirmal Harindran/ The Hindu

Hello and welcome to Sportstar’s live coverage of Day 2 of the Ranji Trophy final between Vidarbha and Kerala in the former’s home ground in Nagpur. 

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