Ranji Trophy | Baby’s unbeaten fifty boosts Kerala on opening day

Kerala's captain Sachin Baby leads with unbeaten half-century against Gujarat in Ranji Trophy semifinal, scoring 206 for four.

A conservative, unbeaten half-century from captain Sachin Baby helped Kerala post 206 for four against Gujarat on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy semifinal at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Monday.

The day’s play was a battle of patience as either side refused to give the opposition an inch. Despite picking only four wickets in the day, the Gujarat bowlers will be buoyant with the controlled run rate while Kerala will look to take positives from the stubborn batting it employed against the host.

Kerala got off to a solid start after opting to bat on the black soil surface as openers Akshay Chandran and Rohan Kunnummal safely waded through the initial hour of play with very little on offer for the pacers.

Despite a few disjointed calls while running between the wickets, the dugout spurred the batters on with orchestrated claps as the pair brought up the fifty-run partnership in the 18th over. The coordination issues eventually proved fatal as Kunnummal sold Akshay down the river attempting a risky single to extra cover.

Kunnummal perished a few overs later, unable to put the run-out episode behind him, trapped in front by a Ravi Bishnoi googly. Baby and debutant Varun Nayanar stitched a 93-ball stand, but with the scoreboard progressing very slowly, Gujarat managed to exert some pressure and prise out the young batter for 10.

The game of attrition continued after Jalaj Saxena walked to the crease, and despite the duo managing to find boundaries consistently, Kerala could not manage an uptick in its run rate.

Left-arm pacer Arzan Nagwaswalla accounted for Jalaj after the tea break, forcing him to play on after a 71-run association with Sachin off 168 balls.