Ranji Trophy: Umesh crushes Kerala to put Vidarbha in final

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav starred with a match haul of 12 for 79 as defending champion Vidarbha routed Kerala by an innings and 11 runs on the second day of the Ranji Trophy semi-final here yesterday to reach the final for the second year running. This is the first time Kerala had qualified for the Ranji Trophy semi-final.

Yadav added five wickets to his first innings haul of 7 for 48 as Vidarbha bundled out Kerala for 91 in the second innings to seal the low-scoring contest a little after lunch on the second day of the five-day clash.

Resuming at 171 for 5, the defending champion finished at 208 all out in 52.4 overs to take the lead past the 100-run mark, thanks to some lusty hitting by Yadav (17) at No. 10.

However, another poor batting show by the host despite the bright start provided in the second innings by KB Arun Karthick (36) and Jalaj Saxena (7) resulted in a swift end to the proceedings. Vidarbha awaits the winner of the Karnataka v Saurashtra semi-final.

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