Vidarbha pulled of a suprise move in the Ranji Trophy final
Photo : PTI
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Vidarbha pulled off a surprise move in the Ranji Trophy final
- Kerala are playing their first-ever major final
- Vidarbha lost the final last year
The 2024-25 Ranji Trophy final between Vidarbha and Kerala at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur saw a bizarre move on the first day of play as the home team flipped their batting order after losing the toss in the summit clash.
Playing their first-ever final of any major event, Kerala skipper Sachin Baby decided to bowl first. The first-time finalist made one change to their playing XI from the semi-final with 19-year-old Eden Appleton replacing Varun Nayanar. On the other hand, the hosts made one change as regular opener Atharva Taide made way for spin bowler Akshay Karnewar.
Vidarbha's batting order left the cricket fraternity stunned as Parth Rekhade walked out to open the batting alongside Dhruv Shorey. Rekhade had batted at number nine in the second innings of the semi-final. However, he did bat at number three in the first innings.
The move to open with Rekhade backfired as he was dismissed for a duck after facing just two deliveries. Vidarbha pulled off another surprise at this point as Darshan Nalkande walked out to bat at number three. The 26-year-old has been batting at number right regularly for the two-time champions. However, his stay at the crease was also short-lived as he departed after making one run in 21 balls.
From this point, Vidarbha reverted to their original batting order as Danish Malewar walked out at number four and Karun Nair at number five.
The unprecedented move by the Akshay Wadkar-led side divided opinions, as Vidarbha's tactical masterstroke to protect their regular batters from the new ball was praised, but it was questioned whether it was correct for Karun Nair, who is hoping to make a comeback in the Indian team, and Yash Rathod, who is the breakthrough star of the season, to sit in the dressing room instead of grinding it out in tough conditions.
Talking about the match, Vidarbha were 24-3 before Malewar and Nair put up a double-century stand. Malewar completed his second first-class century. The 21-year-old also made a half-century in the quarter-final and semi-final.
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