Vidarbha bank on home advantage v sprightly Kerala

In the bowling department, left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, 22, has set the tournament alight, claiming 66 wickets in nine matches.

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 teams clash in the final of the Ranji Trophy, starting here today. 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.

Yash Rathod has been at the forefront of their batting with 933 runs in nine matches at 58.13. Wicketkeeper and captain Akshay Wadkar has led from the front, scoring 674 runs in nine matches at 48.14. In the bowling department, left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey, 22, has set the tournament alight, claiming 66 wickets in nine matches. 

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He is on the cusp of creating history with Bihar player Ashutosh Aman’s record (68 wickets) of most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season well within his grasp. On the other hand, making their maiden appearance in the Ranji Trophy final, Kerala rode their luck in the knockouts to beat Jammu and Kashmir by one run in the quarters and Gujarat by two runs in the semis, both on the basis of a first-innings lead.

Salman Nizar (607 runs in eight matches at 86.71) and Mohammed Azharuddeen (601 runs in nine matches at 75.12) are the two batting mainstays. The Sachin Baby-led team will look towards the veteran spin duo of Jalaj Saxena (38 wickets) and Aditya Sarwate (30 wickets) to do the bulk of the damage with the ball.

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