KERALA'S DREAM RUN ENDS IN NIGHTMARE

BY 3 pm, the Krishnagiri Stadium was more or less cleared out. Kerala's historic semifinal against Vidarbha had come to a premature end. A few hours earlier, Vidarbha had beat Kerala by an innings and 11 runs. A five-day match was over in one-and-a-half days.

- MARTIN JOSEPH @Wayanad

Vidarbha secured a second successive final berth. They managed to exploit the conditions which looked favourable for the home team when the match started on Friday. Kerala had crumbled on the first day thanks to a devastating spell from Umesh Yadav and Faiz Fazal's gritty knock with the bat helped Vidarbha take a 65-run lead into the second day. Kerala tried to stage a recovery to make a game out of it. Basil Thampi and Sandeep Warrier stung Vidarbha early. With moisture on the surface in the morning, Warrier and Thampi got their mojo back.