Ranji Trophy: Kerala takes massive lead against Uttar Pradesh

By Sreejith CR | First Published Nov 8, 2024, 12:50 PM IST

Kerala resumed their innings on day three at 340/7. Today, they lost their remaining wickets for 55 runs.

Kerala took a massive 233-run first-innings lead against Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy match. Kerala scored 395 runs in reply to UP's first innings total of 162 at the St. Xavier's College Ground in Thumba. Salman Nizar (93) was Kerala's top scorer, while Sachin Baby (83) also made a significant contribution. Aqib Khan took three wickets for UP. Earlier, the visitors were bowled out for 162 in their first innings, with Jalaj Saxena taking five wickets.

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Kerala resumed their innings on day three at 340/7. They lost their remaining wickets for just 55 runs on Friday (November 8). Salman was the first to depart, adding 19 runs to his overnight score, caught by Siddharth Yadav off Aqib's bowling. Basil Thampi (0) was dismissed on the very first ball he faced. However, Mohammed Azharuddeen (40) played positively from one end, taking the lead past 250. Kerala's innings finally ended at 395 with Aqib dismissing Azharuddeen. Apart from Aqib, Shivam Mavi, Saurabh Kumar, and Shivam Sharma took two wickets each for UP.

Baba Aparajith (32) was the first wicket to fall for Kerala yesterday. Aditya Sarwate (14) and Akshay Chandran (24) failed to make a significant impact. Sarwate was dismissed by Shivam Sharma, while Akshay was sent back by Saurabh Kumar. Sachin and Salman then forged a 99-run partnership, which was broken by Mavi's dismissal of Sachin. The skipper's innings included eight boundaries. Jalaj Saxena (35) also made a crucial contribution, adding 59 runs with Salman.

However, Saxena was trapped lbw by Piyush Chawla. Rohan Kunnummal (28) and Vathsal Govind (22) were the other wickets to fall for Kerala on the first day. Both provided a decent start, adding 48 runs for the opening wicket. Aqib Khan broke the opening partnership by dismissing Rohan. Vathsal Govind was dismissed by Shivam Mavi with the score at 69.

Uttar Pradesh, having lost the toss and put in to bat, were all out for 162. Shivam Sharma was their top scorer with 30 runs, while Nitish Rana made 25. Jalaj Saxena shone for Kerala with five wickets. While the top order, including Aryan Juyal (23), Madhav Kaushik (13), Priyam Garg (1), Sameer Rizvi (1), and Siddharth Yadav (19), disappointed, Shivam Sharma, coming in at number ten, scored some crucial runs to take UP past 150.

UP, struggling at 129/9, were rescued by a 32-run partnership for the last wicket between Shivam Sharma and Aqib Khan (3). Apart from Jalaj Saxena's five-wicket haul, Basil Thampi took two wickets for Kerala. Kerala made one change to the team that played against Bengal in the previous match, with pacer K. M. Asif replacing M. D. Nidheesh in the playing XI.

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