There is something about Aditya Sarwate, Ranji Trophy finals and the VCA Stadium.
He was the player-of-the-match for Vidarbha in the 2018-19 final here. Six years later, he is playing an innings that could go a long way in deciding another final. Except that he is playing against Vidarbha now.
Sarwate, coming in at one-drop for the first time, batted with grit, as well as some flair, to lead Kerala’s reply to Vidarbha’s first innings score of 379. His new side finished the second day at 131 for three — a considerable improvement from 14 for two.
Kerala will want Sarwate to bat for long on the third day. After Darshan Nalkande yorked the openers Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal, it was his third-wicket partnership of 93 with the young Ahammed Imran (37) that steadied the Kerala innings.
Ranji Trophy final, Day 2 –As it happened
But, in the final hour, Imran was guilty of playing according to Vidarbha’s plan: he pulled Yash Thakur’s short ball to the fielder at mid-wicket, who was placed for just that shot. The 18-year-old, however, had been batting sensibly and responsibly till then.
Sarwate, though, continued his vigil and his drives on the off-side were delightful.
Earlier, Vidarbha’s hopes of making a massive first-innings total were dashed by the Kerala seamers. After resuming at the overnight score of 254 for four, the host suffered a major setback when Danish Malewar (153, 285b, 15×4, 3×6) was bowled through the gate – a big one at that – by N.P. Basil, who got one to nip back to clip the off stump.
Basil, who may not be that quick but bowls steadily, then sent back the nightwatchman Thakur with a ball that kept low and came in sharply. In the very next over, Vidarbha lost its most prized wicket of the season.
Yash Rathod, who arrived in the middle with 933 runs and five hundreds against his name, fell to a fine, low catch at slip by Rohan Kunnummal off Eden Apple Tom’s ball that moved away. Suddenly, the former champion found itself at 297 for seven.
A gritty last-wicket stand between Harsh Dubey and Nachiket Bhute, however, was worth 44. The duo even survived the half-hour that was added to the opening session.