Aditya Sarwate’s unbeaten 66 anchored Kerala’s reply as the visitors reached 131/3 at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final, after restricting hosts Vidarbha to 379 in the first innings on Thursday.

Akshay Wadkar’s men won their third Ranji Trophy in seven years, beating Kerala in the final on first-innings lead at the VCA Stadium on Sunday. They had begun the final day leading by 286 runs with six wickets in hand.

Aditya Sarwate’s unbeaten 66 anchored Kerala’s reply as the visitors reached 131-3 at stumps on the second day of the Ranji Trophy final, after restricting hosts Vidarbha to 379 in the first innings on Thursday.

Vidarbha extended their overall lead to 351 runs by lunch on the final day, inching closer to their third Ranji Trophy title against Kerala here on Sunday.

There is something about Aditya Sarwate, Ranji Trophy final 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 some way in deciding another final. Except that he is playing against Vidarbha now.

Vidarbha extended their overall lead to 351 runs by lunch on the final day, inching closer to their third Ranji Trophy title against Kerala here on Sunday. They had previously won the title in 2017-18 and 2018-19.

Vidarbha 379 (Malewar 153, Nair 86, Nidheesh 3-61) and 375 for 9 dec (Nair 135, Malewar 73, Sarwate 4-96) drew with Kerala 342 (Baby 98, Sarwate 79, Nalkande 3-52)

Vidarbha sealed its third Ranji Trophy title after its encounter against Kerala ended in a draw on day five of the final played at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur.

Aditya Sarwate’s unbeaten 66 anchored Kerala’s reply as the visitors reached 131/3 at stumps on the second day after restricting hosts Vidarbha to 379 in the first innings of the Ranji Trophy final.

Nagpur: Vidarbha left nothing to chance as they batted for almost five sessions, driving home the advantage of a 37-run first innings lead to claim their third Ranji Trophy title on Sunday. Kerala, the first-time finalists,

Vidarbha exorcised the ghosts of their 2023-24 heartbreak in the most emphatic way, clinching their third Ranji Trophy title with a commanding performance against Kerala.They fought hard to secure the crucial first-innings lead and then batted for nearly five sessions in the second innings to grind down their opponents.