The pitch turned out to be the perfect ally for the batters on the final day and foiled Kerala’s push for an outright win as the Kerala-Assam Ranji Trophy match drifted to a draw at the ACA stadium here on Monday.
In the morning, Kerala needed only 17 balls to wrap up Assam’s first innings (overnight 231 for seven) for 248, and the visitor enforced the follow-on.
However, the host came up with an impeccable batting display on the pitch, which had eased out quickly. Assam scored 212 for three in the second innings, with opener Rahul Hazarika making full use of the ideal batting conditions to belt a century (107). Both sides agreed to a draw soon after tea. Kerala for its first-innings lead got three points, while Assam had to be satisfied with one point.
Assam openers Rahul and Rishav Das added 103 for the first wicket at a fast clip. The Kerala attack wasn’t disciplined and gave enough scoring opportunities for the Assam openers. Rahul punished the loose balls to quickly move to his fifty while Rishav lent solid support. Rishav looked set for his fifty as well but Suresh Vishweshwar trapped him in front with a delivery which kept low.
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Gokul Sharma, who had earlier announced his retirement from first-class cricket, joined Rahul, and the two blunted the Kerala attack. Rahul went into a shell as he neared his hundred and reached it by edging Nidheesh through the second slip past a diving Sachin Baby for a boundary.
Gokul (23) was caught by wicketkeeper Vishnu Vinod on the second attempt as the batter tried a cheeky paddle sweep off Jalaj Saxena. Soon Rahul (107) departed, edging Nidheesh to the wicket-keeper but S.G. Ghadigaonkar and Riyan Parag played out the few overs before the players agreed for a draw.
Kerala will next meet Mumbai in Thiruvananthapuram, while Assam will play Andhra in Dibrugarh on January 19.
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