Kerala are pitted against Vidarbha in a Ranji Trophy semi-final tie at Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad. This is the best performance for Kerala in the competition as they have never reached the top-4 before. In the last edition of Ranji Trophy, Kerala reached the quarterfinal for the first time in the Ranji Trophy and this time they have taken a step further.
Vidarbha, on the other hand, saw Uttrakhand off in the quarter-final tie to book the semi-final berth. Wasim Jaffer slammed another double hundred (206), together with Sanjay Ramaswamy (141), to set up the game for the side. Aditya Sarwate and Umesh Yadav wreaked havoc on Uttarakhand batting, picking fifers in the second innings to inflict innings defeat.
Form Guide (last five fixtures, recent first)
Vidarbha – W D W D W
Kerala – W W L W L
Head-to-head (last five Ranji Trophy fixtures)
Vidarbha – 1, Kerala – 1, Draw – 3
Match Details
Where – Wayanad
When – January 24, 9:30 AM IST
After comprehensive performance from either side in the previous outing, no changes are expected here.
KER Playing 11: Jalaj Saxena, Sanju Samson, Sachin Baby (c), Sandeep Warrier, Vinoop Manoharan, Basil Thampi, MD Nidheesh, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Vishnu Vinod, Sijomon Joseph, Ponnam Rahul
Kerala Ranji Trophy Squad: Sachin Baby(c), Sanju Samson, Vishnu Vinod, Jalaj Saxena, Basil Thampi, MD Nidheesh, Sandeep Warrier, Arun Karthik, KC Akshay, Rohan Prem, Akshay Chandran, Vasudevan Arundhadi Jagadeesh, Ponnam Rahul, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Sijomon Joseph and Vinoop Manoharan.
VID Playing 11: Wasim Jaffer, Faiz Fazal (c), Umesh Yadav, Ganesh Satish, Akshay Wakhare, Sanjay Ramaswamy, Aditya Sarwate, Rajneesh Gurbani, Akshay Wadkar (wk), Mohit Kale, Suniket Bingewar
Vidarbha Ranji Trophy Squad: Faiz Fazal(c), Sanjay Ramaswamy, Wasim Jaffer, Ganesh Satish, Mohit Kale, Akshay Wadkar(w), Aditya Sarwate, Akshay Wakhare, Suniket Bingewar, Umesh Yadav, Rajneesh Gurbani, Atharwa Taide, Apoorv Wankhade, Aditya Thakare, Akshay Karnewar, Siddhesh Wath
Wicket-keeper – A Wadkar of Vidarbha is in better form with the bat and we’d prefer him in our fantasy team for the same reason.
Batsmen – Wasim Jaffer and Sanjay Ramaswamy are the top two picks after their hundreds in the quarter-final clash. Sachin Baby, Ganesh Satish and Faiz Fazal are among others who have been prolific in this Ranji Trophy season.
All-rounders – A Sarwate and Jalaj Saxena make the best all-rounder options.
Bowlers – A Wakhare, S Sandeep Warrier, Umesh Yadav and Basil Thampi are the options you can go with.
Make VID vs KER Dream11 Team as per your discretion from the squad listed in the article.