Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Kerala keep final chances alive after taking 2-run lead over Gujarat

The Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season has been a tournament full of thrilling games. One of the thrilling games that is currently going on is the semi-final match between Kerala and Gujarat at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium which went down to the fifth and final day which was a high-scoring phenomenon where Kerala finally achieved a two-run lead to make it to keep maiden Ranji Trophy final qualification alive.

There is no doubt that Gujarat were the favourites at this venue but were put to the test straight away when Kerala skipper Sachin Baby won the toss and elected to bat first. There was a moment in the match when the Gujarat bowlers had a hold on the batters at 157 for 4 but the knocks from skipper Sachin Baby (69 off 195) and Salman Nizar (52 off 202) along with an incredible unbeaten knock from Mohammed Azharuddeen (177* off 341) made sure they put on an imposing total of 457 in the first innings.

On paper, this total looked tough but the century from Gujarat star Priyank Panchal ( 148 off 237) and half-centuries from Aarya Desai and Jaymeet Patel kept the Gujarat team in the hunt to get the lead and secure a lead, and though the team was getting close to getting the lead the spin duo of Aditya Sarwate and Jalaj Saxena took four-wicket hauls to ensure they bowl out the team on 455 and secure lead to potentially fix their place in the finals.

Speaking of the game as of writing the Kerala team is currently on 27-0 after 10.2 overs and will be looking to bat out the whole day to end the game on a draw and qualify for the finals on a first-innings lead. Rohan Kunnummal and Akshay Chandran are currently batting and would want to convert their starts in this innings which they failed to do in the first innings.