There was a stark contrast between the playing elevens fielded by Gujarat and Kerala during the first Ranji Trophy 2024-25 semifinal being played in Ahmedabad.
While Gujarat opted to go with seven bowling options, four of them medium pacers, Kerala went with just two frontline pacers and three spin-bowling all-rounders in its team.
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Kerala skipper Sachin Baby got the rub of the green when he won the toss and opted to bat first, hoping to put up a daunting first-innings score. Gujarat captain Chintan Gaja mentioned he would have bowled first had he won the coin flip, citing that any help for the pacers would be available only during the first session of the first day.
“When we saw the wicket in the morning, we thought it was a little dry. We were contemplating playing three fast bowlers earlier. Luckily, we won the toss and batted. There wasn’t as much movement as we predicted with the new ball,” captain Baby told Sportstar at the end of the first day’s play.
“But, losing wickets at regular intervals means we are still under pressure. There is a dryness in the wicket and we have to bat long and put up a big score to give our bowlers a cushion. Spinners are the main threat in our playing eleven and they will get more help from the surface in the coming days.”
The visitor managed to fight its way to 206 for the loss of four wickets, with the captain remaining unbeaten on 69 off 193 balls. This was Sachin’s first half-century in the red-ball domestic tournament since the group stage encounter against Haryana in November last year.
The 36-year-old had tallied 800-plus runs in each of the previous two Ranji campaigns but has failed to meet those lofty standards this time. A groin injury sustained during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy had derailed his campaign, ruling him out of the following Vijay Hazare fifty-over tournament.
“After the injury, I wasn’t getting big runs so I wanted to score big. I got a lot of confidence after playing 162 balls in the previous game. So, I thought I would take the responsibility and go bat,” the Kerala skipper said.
“I learnt a lot in those 50 days where I didn’t hold the bat. It was my first injury in my 15-year career and hence it messed up my routines. So, I was missing that flow,” he explained.
Sachin and Co.’s fighting sojourn in the middle came in with some criticism from the match commentators for being too slow. Sachin however suggested that the match circumstance demanded some careful batting.
“The game has to be played based on the situation. My focus was to be there as a pillar and play around the other batters. First, we thought we’ll take the team into a good position and then push,” he said.
“If we were only one or two wickets down, the score would have been much higher. If we stitch up a big partnership and tire the bowlers, opportunities will arise to score quicker,” he added.
