Gujarat is 429 for 7, trailing Kerala’s 457 by 28 runs, with Jaymeet Patel unbeaten on 74. In his debut season, the 22-year-old allrounder has previously made crucial contributions, including a quarter-final century and two half-centuries. Kerala adopted a slow approach to score 457, while Gujarat, led by Priyank Panchal’s 148, initially responded with more urgency but later struggled under pressure. Jaymeet and Siddharth Desai formed a vital partnership to keep Gujarat’s hopes alive. Kerala’s spinners, particularly Jalaj Saxena, have made inroads, claiming four wickets, putting the match in a critical phase heading into the final day.
Gujarat 429 for 7 (Panchal 148, Jaymeet 74*, Saxena 4-135) trail Kerala 457 (Azharuddeen 177*, Nagwaswalla 3-81) by 28 runs
On Friday, he has the opportunity to overshadow those performances if he can extend his unbeaten 74 to help Gujarat chase down the 28 runs necessary for a critical first-innings lead against Kerala. While the first innings remains undecided, the scorecard does not reflect the captivating nature of this contest, which has unfolded as a battle of contrasting strategies between the two teams.
Gujarat’s aspirations for a lead appeared bleak at 357 for 7, but Jaymeet and left-arm spin allrounder Siddharth Desai have since stitched together a valuable 72-run partnership across 36.4 overs, battling through the final session to keep alive Gujarat’s hopes of reaching their first final since the 2016-17 season.
As play concluded, Kerala’s two frontline spinners – Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarwate – had bowled a total of 97 overs out of the 154. Jalaj, who bowled continuously throughout the morning session, delivered 61 overs himself, finishing with figures of 4 for 137 – a performance that may prove crucial if Kerala can quickly secure the remaining wickets to claim first-innings supremacy.
Beginning their innings on 222 for 1, Kerala found success early when Manan Hingrajia fell lbw to a straight delivery from Saxena. Nonetheless, the delivery of the day came when Saxena bowled a brilliant ball to dismiss the well-set Panchal, ripping in from the rough to deceive Panchal’s inside edge and crash into the stumps. He followed this by stumping Urvil Patel after luring him with flight and deception. At that point, Kerala was in a strong position as Gujarat slipped to 292 for 4.
Hemang Patel, who came in as a concussion substitute for Ravi Bishnoi, was elevated up the order and struck a rapid 28 runs. The decision to replace Bishnoi was taken after he experienced delayed concussion earlier that morning, stemming from a fielding incident on Day 3 where the ball hit his forehead as he tried to stop it at point.
Hemang’s aggressive batting temporarily put Kerala on the back foot, but an ill-fated attempt to elevate the scoring rate resulted in a miscue, which was exquisitely caught at square third man by substitute Shoun Roger. When Chintan Gaja was given lbw, a decision affirmed by DRS, Gujarat found themselves in dire straits. However, they were revived by Jaymeet, who now stands as the barrier between Kerala and their first Ranji final.