Urvil warms up for Mushtaq Ali Trophy in style

Urvil won the Player-of-the-Match award. | Photo Credit: M. R. Praveen Chandran Urvil Patel arguably made an early switch to white-ball mode ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) as he blasted a whirlwind double century against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy at the Narendra Modi Stadium.The game-changing unbeaten 210 off just 227 balls was the cornerstone of Gujarat’s massive innings and 64-run win against Kerala and served as a perfect warm up for Urvil for the upcoming T20 tournament.Kerala never recovered from Urvil’s brutal assault. It was a definitive statement knock from Urvil, who previously had showcased his big-hitting prowess for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.“It was my maiden double century in First Class cricket and I am happy that it came in a winning cause. I am always an aggressive batter and I love to play my strokes. When I came in we were in a spot of bother but I didn’t want the bowlers to dominate me, so I decided to attack. It was important to get a partnership going and Vishal (Jayswal) played beautifully,’’ he said.“Kerala spinners were getting into a fine rhythm so I decided to attack and I took my chances against Aditya Sarvate. To be honest we didn’t want to bat again on this pitch so we needed to post a big total and it was important for me to continue batting till the end. It is a good win for us. I hope to carry this form into SMAT and help my side win the tournament,’’ he added. Published - November 05, 2026 08:49 pm IST