India, Feb. 22 -- Showing tremendous grit and determination, for their second straight knock-out match, Kerala pulled off a miraculous victory to seal a historic maiden Ranji Trophy final berth.

After pipping Jammu & Kashmir in the quarter-final on the back of a one-run first-innings lead, Kerala again had their backs to the wall in their semi-final match against Gujarat in the fight for the all-important first innings lead.

Needing to pick up three wickets while having just 28 runs to defend at the start of the final day's play at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, the Kerala team was under pressure. Their bowlers and fielders, however, rose to the occasion to clinch a vital two-run first-innings lead.

Kerala had batted well to amass ...