Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal didn’t mind losing the morning toss. Because his first bowler arrived early to allow the visitors to control Ranji his trophy match against Kerala at KCA-St. Xavier’s College Grounds on Tuesday.
In ideal conditions for swing bowling, Karnataka’s Mediums his pacers V. Koushik and V. Vyshak forced errors on Kerala’s top batsmen to reduce them to 5/3.
Another century in Sachin Baby’s rearguard (116 shots) brought the hosts to a respectable 224 total on day one. Sachin’s 10th Ranji Trophy Century and his two key stands – 120 on the 4th wicket against Vathsal Govind (46) and a 50 run unbeaten run on the 7th wicket against Jalaj Saxena (31 strokes). ) – kept Kerala alive in the competition.
The slide started at the opening when the lead he missed a flick by P. Rahul (0) and was flanked in front by Koushik. Sachin came in with his Rohan Prem (0) fall and on the second slip he pushed an outswinger from Vyshak to He Devdutt Padikkal.
Rohan Kunnummal (5) steered Koushik towards He Nikhil Jose in the gorge after starting off-driver four, throwing Kerala into chaos. Sachin and Vathsal survived the Medium Pacers’ test period, and both batsmen played shots against the spinners once the pitch subsided.
Nudges and edges were replaced by flowing punches, and Sachin teamed with Vatsal to bring up the Century Stand and revive the innings.
However, a hard-working Vathsal threw a wicket when blitzed by a wide ball from Koushik, with wicketkeeper Sharath making a regular catch.
Koushik rearranged Salman his Nizar stump as the batter tried to cut his pacer in center. Akshay Chandran (17) fought back for a while and on his sixth wicket against Sachin he added 46 runs. Sachin did the majority of his runs in partnership, unsurprisingly reaching 100.
But Akshay, too, died in a bad shot when Shreyas Gopal’s wild blow ended in a short thin leg in Shuban Hedge’s hand.
Sachin found support from Jalaj, who played a crucial shot that reduced the effectiveness of the Karnataka bowlers in the final session after surviving an opportunity at 9 when Mayank Agarwal dropped him with Gopal’s slip.
Day 1 scorecard: Kerala vs Karnataka
Kerala-Ist innings:
P.Rahul lbw Koushik 0, Rohan Kunnummal c Nikhil b Koushik 5, Rohan Prem c Padikkal b Vyshak 0, Sachin Baby batting 116, Vathsal Govind c Sharath b Koushik 46 Salman Nizar b Koushik 0, Akshay Chandran c Hedge b Gopal 17, Jalaj Saxena batting 31
Extras (nb 6, lb 3): 9
Total (for six wkts. in 90 overs): 224
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-1, 3-6, 4-126, 5-128, 6-174
Karnataka bowling: Koushik 15-4-36-4, V. Vyshak 17-2-56-1, Gowtham 26-3-56-0, Hegde 17-2-48-0