Kerala overcame the vagaries of the wicket with intent and aggression to cruise to an eight-wicket win over Punjab in the Ranji Trophy cricket match at the KCA-St. Xavier’s College ground here on Monday.
Chasing 158 for a win, the makeshift opening pair of captain Sachin Baby and Rohan Kunnummal was ultra aggressive in its approach and threw the pitch out of the equation in the quest for victory. Perhaps they took a cue from aggressive methods that Punjab captain Prabhsimran Singh (51 off 49 balls) adopted during his team’s innings on the two-paced wicket that made batting a hazardous exercise for most of the batters.
AS IT HAPPENED: Ranji Trophy 2024-25 Highlights: Kerala beats Punjab by eight wickets
Kunnummal and Sachin attacked the bowling from the start and added 73 runs for the first wicket in 13 overs, which set up the road to victory. The second wicket stand of 75 between Sachin (56), who was the passive partner in the first wicket stand, and Baba Aparajith (39 not out) sealed the contest.
Kunnummal took up the task to defang the Punjab spinners early. He sashayed down the track and smote Naman Dhir over long-on for a six to begin the chase on a positive note. He then square cut Emanjot Singh fiercely for a boundary and deposited Mayank Markande’s first ball over long-on for a six. Kunnummal raced to 48 off 36 balls but missed out on a big score as Markande took a sharp return catch. However, Sachin and Aparajith overcame their nervous starts to play the bowlers with confidence. Sachin was dismissed soon after completing his fifty but Salman Nizar pulled Gurnoor Brar for a couple to complete the win.
Tightening the screws
Earlier in the morning, Aparajith bowled with precision and control to trouble the batters. Krish Bhagat (5) and Nehal Wadhera (12) fell cheaply as Punjab slumped to 50 for five. But Prabhsimran and Anmolpreet Singh took the aggressive route to take the fight to the Kerala camp and added 71 runs for the sixth wicket.
Kerala’s Baba Aparajith in action during Ranji trophy Cricket match between Kerala and Punjab at St. Xavier’s KCA Ground in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN / THE HINDU
Prabhsimran hit a flurry of boundaries off Aparajith and Akshay Chandran to quickly wrest the momentum. Azharudden flunked a stumping chance off Chandran, but Prabhsimaran didn’t temper his aggression and raced to his fifty.
Jalaj took the prize scalp of Prabhsimran, who feathered a catch to Vathsal Govind at silly point. Prabhsmiran’s dismissal opened the floodgates as Punjab lost its last five wickets for just 21 runs.
Kerala’s spin trio of Baba Aparajith (4/35), Aditya Sarwate (4/43) and Jalaj Saxena (2/40) shared the spoils as Punjab was bowled out in the extended first session.
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