Ranji Trophy: Speedsters Nagwaswalla, Gaja put Gujarat firmly in command against Kerala
Their lethal spell triggers a lower order batting collapse forcing Kerala to follow-on; after losing Kunnummal cheaply in the visitor’s second essay Abhishek and Baby steady the ship with smart batting
Pacers Arzan Nagwaswalla (four for 59) and Chintan Gaja (three for 65) ran rampant with the second new ball to trigger a lower order batting collapse in Kerala’s first innings. Their lethal spells firmly put Gujarat firmly on the road to victory in their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy cricket match at the Narendra Modi stadium here on Wednesday (November 4, 2026).
Nagwaswalla and Gaja picked up two wickets each with the new ball as Kerala collapsed from 277 for six to 279 all out soon after tea. Following on, Kerala lost Rohan Kunnummal cheaply but Abhishek J. Nair and Sachin Baby resisted the Gujarat attack to prevent any further damage before stumps.
Earlier in the day, Kerala’s batters frittered away their solid starts with none staying long enough to play a defining knock. Gujarat’s bowlers, meanwhile, remained disciplined and patient, providing the breakthroughs just when the partnerships began to look threatening.
Gujarat's Chintan Gaja celebrates the fall of a Kerala wicket. | Photo Credit: File photo: VIJAY SONEJI
Baby (42) and Vishnu Vinod played fluently to take the total to 120 but the former was trapped in front, playing back to a delivery from Siddharth Desai.
Vishnu Vinod (66) was tempted with short balls by the medium pacers but he restrained himself and later opened up to play big shots against the spinners. However, he became debutant Amit Desai’s first wicket as he was pinned in front by a ball which turned square out of the rough to leave Kerala reeling at 154 for five.
Aditya Saravate joined Mohammed Azharuddeen and the duo played in contrasting styles to add 95 runs for the sixth wicket. Sarvate (58) didn’t lose any opportunity to punish the bad balls while Azharuddeen played a restrained knock, eschewing his usual aggression.
It was only after Sarvate top-edged a sweep to Vedant Trivedi at silly mid-on, that Azharuddeen changed gears to reach his fifty. Gujarat took the second new ball soon after tea and it brought a swift end to Kerala’s first innings.
The scores: Gujarat — 1st innings: 534/9 decl.
Kerala — 1st innings: Abhishek P. Nair c Urvil b Nagwaswalla 10, Rohan S. Kunnummal c (sub) b Nagwaswalla 11, Varun Nayanar c Hingrajia b Gaja 17, Sachin Baby lbw b Siddharth 42, Vishu Vinod lbw b Amit 66, Mohammed Azharuddeen c Amit b Gaja 57, Aditya Sarvate c Trivedi b Siddharth 58, Jalaj Saxena b Gaja 10, Vaisakh Chandran b Nagwaswalla 1, M.D. Nidheesh (not out) 0, N.P. Basil lbw b Nagwaswalla 1; Extras (lb-1, w-4, nb-1): 6; Total (in 88.2 overs): 279.
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-21, 3-48, 4-120, 5-154, 6-249, 7-277, 8-278, 9-278.
Gujarat bowling: Gaja 18-3-65-3, Nagwaswalla 17.2-4-59-4, Amit 13-1-42-1, Siddharth 24-8-67-2, Jayswal 16-1-45-0.
Kerala — 2nd innings: Abhishek P. Nair (batting) 29, Rohan Kunnummal b Nagwaswalla 7, Sachin Baby (batting) 0; Extras (lb-5):5; Total (for one wkt. in 16 overs): 41.
Fall of wicket: 1-25.
Gujarat bowling: Gaja 4-2-5-0, Nagwaswalla 4-0-11-1, Siddharth 5-0-15-0, Jayswal 2-1-4-0, Amit 1-0-1-0.
