Gujarat play Kerala in the Ranji Trophy semi-final in Ahmedabad on Monday. Gujarat defeated Saurashtra by an innings and 98 runs in the quarterfinals at Rajkot. Sachin Baby’s Kerala have had an emotional ride as they earned their second semi-finals berth (since 2018-19) Kerala displayed incredible patience on the last day to bat out and force a draw, ending their first innings lead, despite being given a difficult goal of 399. Gujarat’s mainstays of their batting lineup this season, Manan Hingrajia, Jaymeet Patel, and keeper Urvil Patel, put on a strong middle order display that helped them win. The leader of Kerala’s bowling assault has been MD Nidheesh, who was the driving force behind the annihilation of Jammu and Kashmir. Jalaj Saxena, a domestic mainstay with over 6900 runs and 470 wickets in first-class cricket, will also want to make an impression for Kerala. The 38-year-old’s spin bowler has taken 34 wickets at an impressive average of 16.84, making him their top wicket-taker. The Madhya Pradesh veteran has also made significant contributions with the bat, scoring two fifties to reach 271 runs at an average of 30.11 this season.
