Rescue Mission Sachin Baby (30 n.o, 91b, 3×4) helped Kerala face Pondicherry for the first time this season in the second day of the Ranji Trophy Group C match at Siechem Stadium on Wednesday. .
Baby had Salman Nizar (24 n.o, 51b, 2×4, 1×6) in company as the match ended with Kerala still 260 runs behind with 7 wickets remaining. The duo had a crack to fill as Kerala fumbled his 3-for-71. That he responded well with a 40-run streak, scoring almost 20 overs in the final session, mixing talent and attention against his pair of orthodox left-arm spins Sagar Udeshi and Ankit his Sharma. rice field.
With the ball spinning and short-legged fielders frequently appearing, Baby and Nizar pushed forward on defense and offense. If the drop of the ball is too short, the left-hander will play soft-handed to kill the edge and gently dab the single behind the square. His six-over long-on for Nizar in his final hour was a bolt from the blue, signaling a change of momentum.
But the need for stimulus was more pressing at the top, and so the lack of stimulus was more pronounced. After a respectable 371 in Pondicherry, the visitors needed to score quickly to push for a decisive overall victory.
His new ball operators Abin Mathew and Vishal Khokhar were ready to sign. Rohan Kunnummal and P. Rahul charged into the outside space and collected five boundary lines with drives and punches.
But they quickly worked their way up to the trick. Kunnummal poked the ball, but it slipped away into a slip fielder and Rahul drove wide to the outside and was caught behind.
Earlier in the day, Pondicherry continued to frustrate Kerala with Paras Dogra (159, 361b, 13×4) and Arun Karthik (85, 133b, 8×4, 1×6). With the second new ball outdated, M.D. Nidheesh and Basil Thampi get a glimpse of their sensational opening jabs on day one. They found both ends of the bat as the seeded hitters were the beneficiaries of the streak boundaries through slip chains.
Nevertheless, Karthik quickly added 20 runs to the overnight score before Thampi was caught with a lead foot in front of the stumps. Newcomer Akash Kargave (48, 78b, 6×4) took 12 balls to reach goal when the pacemakers teased him to the outside. He eventually found redemption with an authoritative move on the square leg boundary in front of Vishweshar Suresh, who continued to struggle with a forefoot no-ball. Dogra and kargave added 74 runs before the latter easily caught and ended an ill-timed streak. Jalaj Saxena (75 for 5) then took over and added 17 runs for the last four batsmen to complete his sixth catch for five wickets and record 50 scalps this rune trophy season.
BRIEF SCORES
Kerala 111/3 in 43 overs (Sachin Baby 30 batting, Salman Nizar 24 batting; Sagar Udeshi 1/11, Krishna 1/16) vs Pondicherry 371 in 127.3 overs (Paras Dogra 159, Arun Karthick 85; Jalaj Saxena 5/75, Sijomon Joseph 2/66).