Good morning and welcome to Sportstar's live updates of the Ranji Trophy semifinals between Vidarbha vs Kerala and Saurashtra vs Karnataka that promises to be a cracker of a contest.
Our correspondents Ayan Acharya and Wriddhayaan will bring you live updates from Krishnagiri Stadium, Wayanad and M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru respectively.
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Vid vs Ker: Kerala pacers chipping away quick wickets as the day comes to close. Basil Thampi strikes to remove new man Rajneesh Gurbani for a duck, second catch for Azharuddeen. Sandeep Warrier, sends back the set Atharva Taide (23 off 46 balls) in the next over. Vidarbha 171/5
Vid vs Ker: Mohammed Azharuddeen latches on to a catch to dismiss Faiz Fazal for 75 in Sandeep Warrier's bowling. Vidarbha 170/3.
Kar vs Sau: One run off the final over of the day. Karnataka 264 for 9.
Kar vs Sau: Four wickets, and now a catch. It's been Jaydev Unadkat's day today. At mid-off, he takes a straightforward catch to dismiss Abhimanyu Mithun. Mithun, attempting a slog sweep off Makwana, gets a top-edge and departs for 4. Karnataka nine down, for 258. Two overs left in the day.
Vid vs Ker: In Wayanad, Vidarbha reaches 150. The lead is 44, with eight wickets in the bag.
Kar vs Sau: And it's paid dividends for the away team. Dharmendrasinh Jadeja gets one to sneak through Vinay Kumar to disturb the furniture. Vinay Kumar, inexplicably, tried a big heave and paid the price. Karnataka is eight down now, in the 85th over. Karnataka 251 for 8, Abhimanyu Mithun is the new batsman.
Kar vs Sau: The last 10 minutes have been dry in terms of scoring. The new ball is due but Saurashtra seems to prefer not to take it for now, and instead, have spinners plough on with the old ball.
Kar vs Sau: Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, Karnataka loses its seventh wicket. K. Gowtham is dismissed by Kamlesh Makwana for 2. Karnataka 238 for 7 in the 78th over.
Vid vs Ker: Taide collects another boundary. He plays a cracking stroke through extra-cover off Nidheesh.
Kar vs Sau: Shreyas Gopal departs for 87. He is bowled by Kamlesh Makwana. Karnataka 232 for 6.
Vid vs Ker: Taide slices Warrier square through the off-side to collect another boundary. After 29 overs, it's 130 for 2.
Vid vs Ker: It's a half-century for Faiz Fazal. The Vidarbha captain reaches the landmark with a smooth straight-drive.
Vid vs Ker: Taide is off the mark with a flick off his legs for a boundary.
Vid vs Ker: The stalwart Wasim Jaffer is dismissed. Vidarbha loses its second wicket.
Vid vs Ker: Vidarbha is in the lead now. It seems to be a no-contest on the first day. Vidarbha 113 for 1 in the 26th over, leads by seven runs.
Kar vs Sau: Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, S. Sharath has brought up his half-century. Karnataka is 261 for 5.
Vid vs Ker: Vidarbha reaches its 100, for the loss of one wicket.
Kar vs Sau: A 64-run stand for the sixth wicket between Shreyas Gopal (71*) and S. Sharath (40*) has seen Karnataka reach 200 for 5.
Kar vs Sau: Shreyas Gopal (63*) and S. Sharath (34*) have brought up their 50-run stand for the sixth wicket. Karnataka 186/5.
Ker vs Vid: M.D. Nidheesh draws first blood for Kerala. He castles R, Sanjay for 19 (28 balls, 4x4) and Vidarbha loses its first wicket for 33, trailing Kerala by 68 runs.
Read: Umesh Yadav records career-best domestic figures
Kar vs Sau: Shreyas Gopal scores a 50. His eighth in first-class cricket. The 50 has come in 95 balls with seven fours. Karnataka 138/5.
Kar vs Sau: Who else apart from the captain to break the partnership? Jaydev Unadkat castles Manish Pandey, with a ball that just pitched just behind the good length area, for 62 and Karnataka is 136/5. Unadkat has figures of 8.2-3-25-4 now.
Kar vs Sau: Manish Pandey and Shreyas Gopal have added 102 runs for the fifth wicket and have bailed Karnataka out of trouble. 132/4.
Ker vs Vid: Kerala loses its ninth wicket as Umesh Yadav castles Sandeep Warrier. Kerala 101/9 after 28 overs. Seven wickets for Umesh Yadav.
Kar vs Sau: That will be Lunch on Day 1 and Karnataka has recovered after Saurashtra made early inroads. From 30/4, the pair of Manish Pandey and Shreyas Gopal kept the opposition at bay with an unbeaten 98-run stand. At Lunch, Karnataka 128/4.
Kar vs Sau: 29th first-class 50 for Manish Pandey. He is on 51 off just 48 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes. Karnataka 109/4.
Ker vs Vid: Umesh Yadav is breathing fire here. Six wickets for him. Basil Thampi joins the procession. He is caught by Akshay Wadkar off Umesh for 10 and Kerala down in the dumps at 71/8. The India speedster has figures of 9-1-33-6 now.
Our correspondent Amol Karhadkar has some stat:
Ker vs Vid: Five-wickets for Umesh Yadav. He removes Jalaj Saxena for 7 and Kerala in tatters at 55/7. Umesh now has figures of 7.2-1-21-5.
Kar vs Sau: Manish Pandey and Shreyas Gopal bring the 50-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Karnataka 80/4.
Kar vs Sau: Manish Pandey (32 off 23 balls) and Shreyas Gopal (13 off 30 balls) have added 40 runs for the fifth wicket as Karnataka moves to 70/4.
Ker vs Vid: K.B. Arun Karthik (4) and Sachin Baby (22) depart in quick succession to leave Kerala gasping for breath at 46/6. Umesh Yadav has picked up four wickets while Gurbani has snared the other two. Jalaj Saxena and Vishu Vinod have an uphill task on hand.
Kar vs Sau: Karun Nair perishes. Chetan Sakariya induces an edge and Snell Patel makes no mistake behind the wickets. Karun is out for 9 (22 balls, 1x4) and Karnataka wobbling at 30/4.
Ker vs Vid: Kerala in trouble at 28/4. It is the turn of Vinoop Manoharan to walk back to the hut (0, 4 balls), caught by Faiz Fazal in the slip cordon off Umesh Yadav. This has been a terrific start by the defending champion.
Ker vs Vid: Rajneesh Gurbani removes P. Rahul for 9 (29 balls, 2x4), caught by Faiz Fazal, and Kerala in tatters at 27/3.
Kar vs Sau: Terrific bowling from Jaydev Unadkat. He gets the big wicket of Mayank Agarwal. He rolls his fingers and the ball is a tad slower, Mayank induced into the shot on the up, gets to the ball a tad late, only manages an edge and the keeper makes no mistake. Mayank 2 (30 balls), Karnataka in trouble at 19/3.
Ker vs Vid: Umesh Yadav sends the in-form Sijumon Joseph back for no score. That is a big wicket for Vidarbha. He is caught by Sanjay Ramaswamy and Kerala 21/2.
Kar vs Sau: Jaydev Unadkat strikes again. K.V. Siddharth has no clue to an inswinging full length ball from the seamer. The batsman tried to whip it on the on-side and the ball thuds on to the pads and the umpire raises his finger in an instant. Siddharth is out for 12 and Karnataka 14/2.
Kar vs Sau: A couple of LBW shouts from the Saurashtra bowlers. The umpires aren't interested and the replays show that Mayank Agarwal is just lucky. The ball might have clipped the stumps. Karnataka batsmen need to apply themselves in to counter the new ball and the session. 10/1.
Ker vs Vid: Umesh Yadav strikes. Mohammed Azharuddeen is caught by Yash Thakur, at mid-on, off Umesh for 8 (8 balls, 1x4) and Kerala is 9/1 in 3.2 overs.
Kar vs Sau: What a start for Saurashtra. Jaydev Unadkat traps R. Samarth infront in the third ball of the innings. Karnataka loses its first wicket for no score. 0/1. K.V. Siddharth joins Mayank Agarwal in the middle.
Here are the playing XIs of Kerala and Vidarbha.
Here are the 22 men who would be slugging it out in Bengaluru.
Here are the toss updates:
At Bengaluru, Karnataka has won the toss and it will bat first.
At Wayanad, Faiz Fazal has won the toss and Vidarbha will bowl first. Not surprising at all!
Missed the action previously, not to fret, here are the previews.
It is time for the four best teams in India's domestic cricket to slug it out for the top honours. Yes, it is time for the Ranji Trophy semifinals and we have you covered with all the updates and happenings.
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