Gurbani, Fazal put Vidarbha in command

Vidarbha 246 and 77 for 1 (Fazal 51*) lead Kerala 176 (Jalaj 40, Gurbani 5-38) by 147 runs
Scorecard

Medium-pacer Rajneesh Gurbani's second five-wicket haul in two matches bowled out Kerala for 176 and handed Vidarbha a 70-run first-innings lead. Captain Faiz Fazal then made an unbeaten 51 - his fifth fifty-plus score of the season - to extend the lead to 147 at stumps on the third day in Surat.

In reply to Vidarbha's first-innings 246, Kerala kept losing wickets as allrounder Jalaj Saxena top-scored with 40. Resuming on 32 for 2, Jalaj and Rohan Prem stretched their overnight stand to 47 before legspinner Karn Sharma dismissed Prem for 29 in the 20th over. Jalaj and Sanju Samson then put on 44 for the fourth wicket to push the score beyond 100. Samson's wicket, however, triggered a collapse as Kerala went from 115 for 3 to 176 all out. Gurbani cut through the middle and lower order to finish with 5 for 38 in 14 overs.

Vidarbha began their second innings on a positive note with Fazal and Sanjay Ramaswamy adding a 53-run opening stand. The partnership ended when Jalaj had Ramaswamy caught behind in the 17th over. Akshay Wakhare, the nightwatchman, hung around with his captain to see Vidarbha through to stumps.