Nagpur,feb 25
Former winners Vidarbha will rely on their red-hot form to stake claim for a title that they last won over five years ago, while first-time finalists Kerala will be driven by grit when the two contrasting teams clash in the summit showdown for the 90th Ranji Trophy, starting here on Wednesday.It has been nothing short of a stellar run for the Akshay Wadkar-led Vidarbha side this season, winning eight of their nine matches so far and drawing one which makes them the side to beat. Vidarbha emerged from their group stage with six victories in seven matches and won each of the knockouts by heavy margins – by 198 runs against Tamil Nadu in the quarterfinal and by 80 runs against defending champions Mumbai in the semifinal. The winners of 2017-18 and 2018-19 edition, Vidarbha are making their fourth appearance in the final after losing in the final last year to Mumbai, displaying unmatched consistency in red-ball cricket. They had also played in the final of the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season. Salman Nizar (607 runs in eight matches at 86.71, 2x100s, 3x50s) and Mohammed Azharuddeen (601 runs in nine matches at 75.12, 1x100s and 4x50s), the two batting mainstays for the side, held their nerves to frustrate J&K in Pune and ensure their team’s qualification in one of the most exciting finishes this season. With 38 wickets, Jalaj Saxena has been Kerala’s most successful bowler and he will find strong support from former Vidarbha player Aditya Sarwate, who has grabbed 30 wickets to provide adequate support to the veteran spinner.
Teams (from):
Vidarbha: Akshay Wadkar (c&wk), Atharva Taide, Aman Mokhade, Yash Rathod, Harsh Dubey, Akshay Karnewar, Yash Kadam, Akshay Wakhare, Aditya Thakare, Darshan Nalkande, Nachiket Bhute, Siddhesh Wath (wk), Yash Thakur, Danish Malewar, Parth Rekhade, Karun Nair, Dhruv Shorey.
Kerala: Sachin Baby (c), Rohan Kunnumal, Salman Nizar, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Akshay Chandran, Jalaj Saxena, Shoun Roger, Aditya Sarwate, Basil Thampi, MD Nidheesh, Nedumankuzhy Basil, Sreehari S Nair, Sharafuddeen NM, Anand Krishnan, Varun Nayanar, Eden Apple Tom, Ahammed Imran.
