Urvil and Vishal revive Gujarat as they battle Kerala in Ranji Trophy opener

Urvil Patel and Vishal Jayswal put together an unbeaten 111-run partnership for the sixth wicket as Gujarat recovered against Kerala at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match on Monday, November 2, 2026.

Kerala had Gujarat in trouble soon after tea at 189 for five, when Jaymeet Patel (one) was stumped by Mohammed Azharuddeen off Aditya Sarvate, but the visitors failed to hold chances and made fielding errors that allowed the hosts to regain control.

The sixth-wicket stand was a measured counterattack, with Urvil Patel on 63 (67b, 7x4, 1x6) and Vishal Jayswal on 50 (83b, 3x4, 2x6), both unbeaten at stumps and responsible for shifting momentum in the final session.

In the morning session openers Aarya Desai and Abhishek Desai batted fluently against bowlers who found little assistance from the pitch, Aarya reaching 95 off 132 balls with six fours and three sixes while Abhishek made 42.

Kerala mounted a comeback after lunch, taking four wickets to reduce Gujarat to 182 for four; Aarya Desai, the top-scorer, attempted a wild slog in his eagerness for a century and was caught by Vishnu Vinod off Vaisakh Chandran.

The scores: Gujarat — 1st innings: Abhishek Desai c Rohan b Nidheesh 42, Aarya Desai c Vishnu b Vaisakh 95, Vedant Trivedi c Rohan b Basil 9, Manan Hingrajia c Azharuddeen b Jalaj 33, Jaymeet Patel st. Azharuddeen b Sarvate 1, Urvil Patel (batting) 63, Vishal Jayswal (batting) 50; Extras (b-4, lb-2, wd-1): 7. Fall of wickets: 1-116, 2-138, 3-180, 4-182, 5-189.

Kerala bowling: Nidheesh 20-3-59-1, Basil 13-3-50-1, Jalaj 24-1-60-1, Sarvate 11-0-68-1, Vaisakh 15-2-57-1.

Gujarat finished the opening day on 300 for five, their total accumulated in 83 overs.