Sanju Samson, Kerala
Sanju SamsonIANS

Kerala have created history, qualifying for the quarterfinals of the prestigious Ranji Trophy after beating Haryana by an innings and eight runs at Chaudhry Bansi Lal Cricket Stadium in Rohtak today (November 28).

Twitterati were full praise for the Kerala team, which played some good cricket, with the likes of Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi impressing with the ball while Jalaj Saxena was brilliant with both bat and ball against Haryana. Warrier took five wickets in the match, and Thampi, who claimed four, also contributed with 60 runs.

The Haryana batsmen could not score much in the first innings. Players like Guntashveer Singh (40) and RS Paliwal (46) started well, but could not score big in the first innings, leading to their downfall. With Haryana's lower middle-order collapsing, they faltered to end up with just 208 runs on the board.

Kerala took massive advantage of the paltry score and opener Saxena looked in fine form, playing some wonderful shots in their first innings. Despite losing their first wicket for just five runs, Saxena (91) and Rohan Prem (93) were involved in a strong partnership of 172 runs, which put Kerala on the front foot.

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With good contributions from Thampi and Mohammed Azharudden later on, the visitors scored 389 runs, allowing them a lead of 181, which looked safe for Kerala to qualify for the next stage of the Ranji Trophy. 

Kerala finished off the match in amazing fashion, dismissing Haryana for an even lower score of 173 runs in the second innings to win the match by an innings and eight runs. This win will always be remembered by Kerala, who have made it to the round of eight for the first time in their history.

Kerala have also finished second in the Group B with 31 points while Gujarat topped with 34. Both teams have made it to the quarterfinals.

Here are some Twitter reactions 

Here is the full scorecard