In Ahmedabad, Kerala scored 206 for 4, with captain Sachin Baby unbeaten on 69. The team’s cautious approach reflected recent collapses, like in their quarter-final against Jammu & Kashmir. Openers Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal added 60 runs before Kerala lost three wickets for 26 runs. Chandran and Kunnummal both contributed 30 runs each. New No. 3 Varun Nayanar managed only 10 before being dismissed. Baby and Jalaj Saxena formed a 71-run partnership, with Saxena scoring 30. Kerala ended the day without further loss, while Gujarat’s Ravi Bishnoi stood out with figures of 1 for 33 in 15 overs.
Kerala 206 for 4 (Baby 69*, Saxena 30, Bishnoi 1-33, Jadeja 1-33) vs Gujarat
By that time, Baby had reached his first half-century since the Ranji Trophy’s return for the second leg, further solidifying his stance alongside Mohammed Azharuddeen as they safely navigated the final hour without further loss.
Gujarat will not be overly dissatisfied with their performance on a day when the pitch provided minimal assistance to both pace and spin bowlers. Bishnoi stood out among the bowlers, taking 1 for 33 in his 15 overs, primarily due to his quick delivery and ability to induce indecisiveness in the batters’ footwork.
Other bowlers, especially the pace attack, were generally precise but lacked the necessary speed to pose a genuine threat to the batsmen.