Ranji Trophy | Kerala’s lower-order salvages a crucial draw against Madhya Pradesh

Kerala's lower-order batsmen salvage a draw against Madhya Pradesh in a Ranji Trophy match with gritty batting.

Kerala’s mission knockout is still on thanks to a stodgy batting display by its lower-order which salvaged a draw against Madhya Pradesh in the Elite Group-C Ranji Trophy match at the Sports Hub here on Sunday.

The injured Baba Aparajith (26 not out) and tail-ender M.D. Nidheesh (4 not out) batted out 82 deliveries for an unbroken 20-run partnership for the ninth wicket which put paid to Madhya Pradesh’s hopes for a win.

With as many as 10 men crowding the bat, Aparajith and Nidheesh survived a nervy final hour to see their side home. Kerala took three points for the first-innings lead and retained its second position in the table.

It was not the swing but the variable bounce which brought the downfall of the Kerala batters in the morning session. The host lost three quick wickets in the first hour and both Shoun Roger and Sachin Baby were victims to the vagaries of the pitch.

Shoun gloved the ball while taking evasive action to a delivery that didn’t bounce as much and Baby was beaten by a delivery that reared up and took the outside edge. The in-form batter Salman Nizar was beaten by an incoming darter from Kumar Kartikeya Singh, who bowled both left-arm spin and leg spin, as Kerala slumped to 47 for five.

The fightback began when Jalaj Saxena joined Mohammed Azharuddeen. While Azharuddeen abandoned his aggressive game and played stoically, Jalaj attended the scoring to add 74 runs for the sixth wicket. Saransh Jain’s faster delivery induced a false stroke from Jalaj (32) who top-edged a sweep to wicketkeeper Himanshu Mantri.

The rearguard action continued through Aditya Sarwate, who didn’t waste any opportunity to punish the loose balls. He slammed Kartikeya for successive sixes to complete his fifty. Sarwate outscored Azharuddeen in the 90-run seventh-wicket stand.