Umesh took seven wickets in 12 overs to run through Kerala, scuttling them for 106 all out in 28.4 overs.
Faiz Fazal then steered Vidarbha's reply with 75, taking them to 171 for 5 in 45 overs, with the lead standing at 65 runs.
Kerala's position was ameliorated by late strikes, when Sandeep Warrier accounted for Fazal and Atharva Taide, while Basil Thampi ensured nightwatchman Rajneesh Gurbani's stay lasted only six balls. Vidarbha were in command at 170 for 2, but lost three wickets in 2.2 overs, including Taide off the last ball before stumps.
Fazal had won the toss and put Kerala in on a spicy pitch at Krishnagiri Stadium in Wayanad. This was the same venue where Kerala had beaten Gujarat
in the quarter-finals, with no team scoring more than 185 and seamers accounting for 34 of the 38 wickets that fell to bowlers.
Jaffer had come into the game with 969 runs, and though he was out for 34 to a good catch at slip by KB Arun Karthik, it was enough to take him past 1,000 runs in the season. It was exactly ten years after he had made 1260 runs for Mumbai
in 2008-09, and even at almost 41 years old, Jaffer showed that he was well up with modern memes in acing the #10YearChallenge.
On the day though, Vidarbha's batting was held together by the other veteran in the team. Fazal's strokeplay on a pitch that offered something to seamers was compact and assured. His wicket did precipitate a mini-collapse, but Vidarbha's lead in what is potentially a low-scoring game is already significant, and they have the assurance of unleashing Umesh in the second innings.
Kerala's batsmen had failed to handle Umesh's pace and hostility in the first innings, and among the top order, only captain Sachin Baby (22) reached double figures. Vishnu Vinod, batting at No. 7, hit out to score 37 not out, adding 25 runs for the last wicket with MD Nidheesh while farming the strike. That stand took Kerala into three figures, but they couldn't go much beyond that.