Ranji Trophy 2024: Sachin Baby hammers his 12th First-Class century
Sachin Baby continued his exceptional form for Kerala on Day 4 against Bihar in the 2024 Ranji Trophy. He was 6* at stumps on Day 3 and added 103 runs to save the match. Baby's 109* held the second innings together for Kerala as the match ended in a draw. This was his 12th First-Class century and a second of the ongoing season.
A fantastic hand from Baby
Baby missed out in the first innings and knew he had to play a big knock to save the match against Bihar. Therefore, he showed exceptional grit and determination, having added 85 runs with Akshay Chandran before stitching an unbeaten 58-run stand with Shreyas Gopal. Baby's 109* off 146 balls was laced with 14 boundaries as Kerala reached 220/4 (second innings).
Excellent start to Baby's 2023-24 Ranji Trophy campaign
Baby has been Kerala's standout batter in the ongoing 2023-24 Ranji Trophy. He has amassed 357 runs from seven innings with an impressive average of 71.40 while slamming two centuries and a fifty. His only other century (131) this season came against Assam.
A look at his First-Class numbers
Playing his 87th First-Class match, the 35-year-old has amassed 4,758 runs at an average above 37. Besides 12 centuries, Baby has tonked 21 fifties in red-ball cricket. He made his FC debut for Kerala back in 2009 and has developed into one of their mainstays with the bat ever since. Baby has also featured regularly in the other two formats for Kerala.
A look at the match summary
Gopal's brilliant 137 helped Kerala post a total of 227 as he received no support from the others. Himanshu Singh starred for Bihar with 4/63. In reply, Bihar compiled 377 courtesy of Sakibul Gani's 150 and fifties from Piyush Singh and Bipin Saurabh. In the second innings, Baby's resilience helped Kerala reach 220/4 as the match ended in a draw.
