WATCH: Sachin Baby LEFT IN SHOCK After Throwing Wicket Away On 98

The Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur was witness to one of the most brutal heartbreaks of the year as Kerala skipper Sachin Baby ended up falling two short of what would have been a historic hundred.

Batting on 98* in Kerala’s first-ever appearance in the final of the Ranji Trophy, Baby, the team’s skipper, was two runs away from etching his name in the history books forever, becoming the first centurion for Kerala in a Ranji final. 

And he looked poised to do so as he looked well-settled against a potent Vidarbha attack. He was in the midst of a good partnership with Jalaj Saxena too, and Kerala were just 55 runs away from leveling Vidarbha’s total of 379.

However, that’s when an heart-wrenching passage of play unfolded as Baby, out of nowhere, had a rush of blood and went for a maximum - a slog sweep - to get to his 100. The left-hander did not get the connection right and he eventually ended up holing out to the fielder at deep mid-wicket, Karun Nair. 

Baby could not believe what he’d just done. He stood there in utter disbelief, unable to process what just happened. He was so close to history but he ended up throwing away the opportunity, just like that.

More crucially, this was a blow to Kerala’s chances, as they were hoping to match Vidarbha’s total and take a significant first-innings lead.