A beleaguered Kerala enjoyed one of its best days of the season at the VCA Stadium here on Wednesday. It was one of those rare days when it managed to lose just three wickets despite batting for two sessions.
The visitors finished the second day at 191 for three, chasing Vidarbha’s first innings total of 326. They have to thank their wicket-keeping opener Mohammed Azharuddeen largely for that healthy score.
He, however, would not be too pleased: he was out for 81 (98b, 9x4, 2x6), when a second First Class hundred looked a possibility. He put on 70 for the first wicket with skipper Jalaj Saxena and 69 for the third with Rohan Prem.
Though Kerala lost the wickets of Azharuddeen and Rohan in successive overs — both at 139 — Sachin Baby and Akshay Chandran, who was promoted up the order, took the team to safety. They have so far added 52 for the unbroken fourth wicket.
The fate of the match could very well depend on how the duo, and the rest of the batsmen, negotiate the opening session on Thursday morning. Kerala just cannot afford to concede the first innings lead and settle for one point if it wants to keep its hopes of remaining in Groups A and B.
Earlier, the host resumed its first innings at 239 for six. A stunning counterattack by Darshan Nalkande, who came in at No. 10, helped Vidarbha post a decent total.
His unbeaten 66 came off just 65 balls (7x4, 3x6). He put on 57 for the last wicket with Aditya Takare, whose contribution was four runs.
For Kerala, M.D. Nidheesh bowled his heart out to take five for 82. It was his third five-wicket haul in First Class cricket and second of the season.
The scores: Vidarbha – 1st innings: Faiz Fazal c Azharuddeen b Nidheesh 10, Aniruddha Choudhari c Vinoop b Basil 0, Wasim Jaffer c Azharuddeen b Vinoop 57, G. Satish c Azharruddeen b Nidheesh 58, Siddhesh Wath c Azharuddeen b Basil 43, Akshay Wadkar c Vinoop b Nidheesh 8, Aditya Sarwate b Nidheesh 26, Akshay Karnewar c Azharuddeen b Jalaj 27, Akshay Wakhare c Chandran b Nidheesh 6, Darshan Nalkande (not out) 66, Aditya Thakare b Basil 3; Extras (b-6, lb-13, nb-2, w-1): 22; Total (in 107.4 overs): 326.
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-23, 3-127, 4-157, 5-181, 6-198, 7-243, 8-247, 9-269.
Kerala bowling: Nidheesh 30-5-82-5, Basil 22.4-7-54-3, K.C. Akshay 13-2-47-0, Jalaj 36-8-98-1, Vinoop 6-0-26-1.
Kerala — 1st innings: Mohammed Azharuddeen b Sarvate 81, Jalaj Saxena c Fazal b Wakhare 30, Rohan Prem lbw b Wakhare 19, Sachin Baby (batting) 30, Akshay Chandran (batting) 17; Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-5) 14; Total (for three wkts. in 54 overs): 191.
Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-139, 3-139.
Vidarbha bowling: Thakare 12-2-40-0, Nalkande 7-0-51-0, Sarvate 13-4-31-1, Karnewar 7-3-19-0, Wakhare 15-3-41-2.
