On the eve of his team’s second Ranji Trophy semifinal appearance, skipper Sachin Baby stepped in for an extended batting session alone in the nets as coach Amay Khurasiya kept a close tab from behind the facility. The focus was on perfecting the cuts and drives while choosing the right deliveries to employ the shots. “Precision is exactness. Power is about going through it (the shot) and precision is about going through it with your control like here, here and here,” Khurasiya said as he pointed out three imaginary marks on the left-handed Baby’s off-side.
For most of the opening day of the semifinal contest on Monday at the empty Motera cauldron, Kerala and Baby’s movements were about exactness and precision, not necessarily on their stroke-making but also the restrained movements in the crease against the Gujarat bowlers.
Over 80 per cent of the Kerala batting scorecard was jotted with dot balls. 429 off the 534 deliveries had no run linked to them and Baby was at the forefront of the stonewalling, blocking out 152 deliveries.
The coach’s pressing may be from the basic manual, but Baby needed assurance and guidance from a like-minded southpaw in Khurasiya to get back to the grind after an improbable injury – the first of his 15-year career for Kerala – put him off the boil for a bit.
“I did not know how to react to such a situation. For the first time in my career, I had to miss a game for Kerala due to an injury. My regular fitness routines went down and it was playing on my mind, especially after I could not contribute much in the first half of the Ranji season as well,” Baby says as Kerala played out 89 overs for 206 runs and four wickets after opting to bat on a tacky Ahmedabad pitch.
It was integral for Baby to find his groove again for Kerala to continue their newfound ‘blockathon’ philosophy. Having led the batting charts for the state with two blockbuster seasons where he crossed 800 runs twice between 2022-24, Baby’s unbeaten 69 off 193 deliveries was his first half-century since November 2024.
Sachin Baby bats for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. (Express Photo by Lalith Kalidas)
‘Katta manassu’ philosophy
As the Kerala captain waded through a late seam bowling probe from his counterpart, Chintan Gaja, the synchronised claps from the dugout were doubled up with some Gen-Z Malayalam lingo that praised Baby’s bravado.
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“Kattakku nilku Baby. Katta manassu (Stay solid Baby. You have a solid mind),” shouted his teammates who have also bought into the art of attrition drawn out by the captain and coach. Kerala team manager Nasir Machan says he has never seen Mohammed Azharuddeen exhibit such levels of restraint before. Surviving a lbw decision off the final delivery of the day with a successful review, Azharuddeen (30 not out off 66 balls) and Baby denied Gujarat the satisfaction of any last-minute ascendency to claim the day.
“All of these boys have transformed this season under the coach and Baby. Azhar is one of our more attacking batters but even he has begun to temper his knocks in a way that is expected of him in the new rule,” remarks Machan.
A spate of injuries and lack of reliable batters emerging from the age-group system prompted Kerala to play around with their batting order to serve the impression of a long order.
“Azhar and Salman Nizar went from top-order roles to lower down the order and we had Jalaj Saxena and Aditya Sarvate coming above them as floaters. We have been looking for an opener and a No. 3 for the last year or so, but haven’t found a consistent bat from U19 or U23. That is when Akshay Chandran put his hand up for the game at the top,” Baby says.
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Embedded in this plan, Kerala even listed two debut batters in young Ahammed Imran and Varun Nayanar for the high-stakes semifinal. Relying on a four-man bowling attack helmed by spinners Sarvate and Saxena, the decision was a stark contrast to the home team’s four-pronged seam attack that was rendered ineffective throughout the morning.
Despite a disintegrating dry pitch developing genuine cracks quite early, Kerala’s added confidence in the unusually defensive mindset even threw Gaja and Gujarat off their game after tea. When Baby blocked out left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai’s delivery with a prodding front-pad outside the off-stump in the 84th over, Gaja and his teammates remained unsuspecting of a potential lbw. The giant-screen replays would tell the Gujarat captain he had lost a substantial opportunity to delay the second new ball to the next day.
Dismayed by the let-off, Gaja smiled wryly before opting for a late, desperate push with the new ball from the next over but Baby and Azharuddeen would not cede an inch.
While the packed-in fields were never consistently threatened by the Kerala batters with regular boundaries, Baby says his team is on course with their plans and could have added another 50-60 runs, save for a little stretch in the morning session.
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As the clock ticked at 11:11 am, Gujarat observed fortune for about fifteen minutes on the field after the fidgety Rohan Kunnummal was involved in frequent mix-ups with his opening partner Chandran in the first hour. A full-throttled charge to a non-existent single to extra cover blew a well-settled Chandran out before Kunnummal burnt a review on a Ravi Bishnoi googly after finding himself trapped in front. That was shortly before Baby took charge and began the controlled recovery with three patient stands.
“The plan was always to bat as much time as possible after seeing a dry pitch. We will bank on our spinners to seal the fate of this game,” Baby said as he sipped on hot tea after his ice bath recovery.
Attrition will be the codeword for Tuesday too, with Baby and his ‘katta manassu’ fuelling Kerala’s hopes of a historic Ranji final berth.
