Kerala bowled out Gujarat for 455, creating a match-defining margin of two runs to take a huge stride towards reaching the Ranji Trophy final.
Before this, Gujarat's teen batting star Jaymeet Patel held firm against intense pressure in his debut First-Class season to bring his team nearer to Kerala's first-innings score with a rearguard action on Day 4 in the Ranji Trophy semifinal at Narendra Modi Stadium.

🚨 A FINAL'S ENTRY BY BAREST OF MARGIN IN RANJI TROPHY. 🚨

- Kerala for the first time in 74 years history have qualified for the Ranji Final by just 2 runs lead. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/ClCjik4cBn

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) February 21, 2025

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This year, Jaymeet, Gujarat's top run-getter, entered with the hosts struggling under a middle-order collapse led by Kerala's experienced off-spinner Jalaj Saxena. Rather than crumbling under pressure, however, he played the game out, stitching together vital partnerships with Vishal Jayswal and Siddharth Desai. His cautious approach helped Gujarat continue to chip away at the deficit, leaving it poised for a nerve-wracking finish where each run would be precious.
Gujarat's prospects of first innings lead were rocked in the morning session earlier in the day when Manan Hingrajia was given out by a debatable third-umpire decision, five overs into the morning session. The replays indicated the ball hitting his bat and pad nearly in unison, but the referral went against him to Kerala's benefit, having him return to the pavilion for 33.

Sreesanth got a notice from the KCA asking for an explanation for his statement. They want to know why he said that statement for the sanju samson exclusion. This happened after the former Indian fast bowler Sreesanth spoke against the KCA for how they treated Sanju Samson. KCA didn't allow Samson a proper opportunity to give his best and show his experience how important for the India's ODI team.

Sreesanth told Onmanorama we should all cheer for Sanju because he is the only one player who plays International for our State, Kerala. The KCA gets players from other States for Kerala team and that's not fair to our own players from here. Why do they act that way? It makes it hard for players who play cricket in Kerala to get a chance.

The BCCI started looking into why Samson wasn't playing in Domestic Cricket. Before this happened, there was a small disagreement between the KCA and Samson primarily concentrated about him not getting to play for the Kerala team in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Samson had to play in these home games to show he's good at Cricket because he wasn't on India's team in the ICC Champions Trophy. 

THOUGHTS on the controversy that has erupted between KCA & Sreesanth over the treatment meted out to Sanju Samson? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/aGvf0umwtZ

— Cricket.com (@weRcricket) February 8, 2025

KCA Fires Back at Sreesanth

Sreesanth’s comment hinted that KCA had acted unfairly. Sreesanth is the co-owner of the Kollam Sailors franchise in the Kcl, he isn't allowed to make such bold statements about the KCA as per his contract. KCA said that why they supported him when no one else did because of his match-fixing past, yet he still made negative remarks against them.

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"When Sreesanth was in jail facing match-fixing allegations, KCA officials Backed him. While the court Dismissed the criminal charges, he has not been officially cleared in the match-fixing case. There’s no reason for him to show as a protector of other players," KCA stated this statement. The KCA board helped Sreesanth make a comeback when others didn’t.  "KCA’s supported Sreesanth got a chance to return to cricket, including playing in the Ranji Trophy. Other teams haven’t extended the same level of support to players with similar pasts, and that’s something to think about," the statement added by Kerala Cricket Association (KCA).