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 … Read more
Far from the madding crowd lies the VCA stadium. It is the last stop for a maddeningly thrilling journey for Kerala in India’s premier domestic cricket tournament. An 81-run partnership by the last pair against Jammu & Kashmir that gave a one-run first-innings lead in the quarterfinal; and a two-run lead against Gujarat, courtesy a … Read more
He may be better known as an umpire now, but K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan was one of the best spinners on India’s domestic circuit for years, with 344 wickets in First-Class cricket. He was also the captain when Kerala qualified for the knockout stage of the Ranji Trophy for the first time in 1994-95. Twenty years later, … Read more
Akshay Wadkar and Aditya Sarwate are the only two cricketers to have featured in each of Vidarbha’s three Ranji Trophy finals so far. Come Saturday and the duo will yet again take the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on the outskirts of Nagpur. However, this time, the duo will be in opposite camps. While Wadkar – … Read more
As Kerala took to the field on day five of the Ranji Trophy semifinal against Gujarat, the team was in desperate need of inspiration to mount a comeback. Gujarat’s lower order had stitched together crucial partnerships, leaving just 28 runs to chase on the final day with three wickets in hand. Kerala had been heavily … Read more