Kerala desperately tried to flog a dead match to life by scoring quickly in the first session and setting a target for Chhattisgarh to chase. However, the host’s batters faced little difficulty in blunting the Kerala attack on the slow wicket. The match drifted to a draw at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
After being set a target of 290 in 53 overs, Chhattisgarh made slow progress to 71 for one off 22 overs when the captains agreed to shake hands after the tea break. Kerala took three points for the first innings lead, while Chhattisgarh got one.
Kerala’s quest for quick runs in the morning was given impetus by Vishnu Vinod, who clubbed two boundaries and a six in the first two overs bowled by medium pacers Ravi Kiran and Ashish Chouhan. Vishnu’s blitz didn’t last long, as he threw away his wicket to a wild slog against left-arm spinner Ajay Mandal. The new batter, Sanju Samson, didn’t allow the tempo to dip as he attacked the bowlers to score runs quickly. Sanju perished trying for a big shot against Ajay and was caught at the long-on fence by Shashank Chandrakar.
Mohammed Azharuddeen joined Sachin Baby and the two put the Chhattisgarh attack to sword. The batters ran the singles hard and manipulated the field by improvising their shots.
Ajay Mandal bore the brunt as the fifth-wicket stand quickly raised 100 runs. Sachin Baby, after playing himself in, effortlessly switched gears to tear the bowling apart. Rasping cuts and flowing drives marked Baby’s innings, and he looked set for another century but was run out courtesy of a direct throw by Rishab Tiwari. Kerala declared the innings after Azharuddeen completed his fifty to set a target of 290 for the host.
Thampi gave Kerala an early lift when he cleaned up Shashank Chandrakar in the fifth over. But Rishab and Ashutosh Singh overcame their tentative starts to play watchful knocks that forced Kerala captain Sanju to agree to a draw after the Tea break.
Comments
SHARE