Kerala grinded out a draw towards Karnataka within the sixth spherical of the Ranji Trophy cricket match on the KCA-St.Xavier’s College floor right here on Friday.
After conceding a primary innings lead of 143, Kerala slumped to 31 for 3 as off-spinner Okay. Gowtham eliminated opener P.Rahul (15) and the dependable Rohan Prem (14) in fast succession. The floor provided sufficient assist for the spinners and Kerala would have been in serious trouble if Shubhang Hegde at mid-on had held on to a regulation catch provided by Sachin Baby, on 9, off Shreyas Gopal.
Sachin Baby made Karnataka pay dearly for the reprieve as he as soon as once more performed a match saving innings (37 not out) and added 55 runs with Vathsal Govind for the fourth wicket which thwarted Karnataka’s victory bid.
Okay. Gowthan struck at stroke of tea by dismissing Vathasal Govind (26) caught by Siddharth at gully however Salman Nizar (4 not out) and Sachin Baby performed out 10 overs after tea with out a lot problem as Karnataka captain Mayank Agarwal agreed for a draw.
Earlier, within the morning, the in a single day pair of B.R. Sharath and Shubhang Hedge didn’t present any urgency to pressure the tempo. Sharath after finishing his fifty slashed at a large supply from M.D.Nidheesh and was caught behind by wicketkeeper P.Rahul for 53. Vaisakh Chandran gave Kerala some carry by cleansing up Okay. Gowtham cheaply.
But V. Vysakh joined Shubhang Hegde and the pair pinched singles and scored odd boundaries so as to add 53 runs for ninth wicket. Hegde accomplished his fifty and Karnataka declared the innings after Vysakh (17) was bowled by Sijomon.
Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarwal, who was the man-of-the-match, mentioned the wicket was difficult to bat on and his gameplan was to remain within the center and punish the free balls.
“Kerala bowled very well and it was not an easy wicket to play shots especially for a newcomer. The way Sachin Baby batted in the first innings gave us a fair idea of how to bat on this wicket. I had to work hard for my runs and I chose the right balls to hit. As a team we are happy with the way we are playing. at the moment. We had our chances after we reduced them to 31 for three if we had taken Sachin’s catch things would have been different. Overall it was a good performance from us.’‘ he said.
Kerala coach Tinu Yohannan said he was proud of the way his team fought back after being reduced to six for three. “We will take all the positives from this match. We fought back and earned a draw against a strong side. So I am happy with the team’s show.” he added.