A remarkable day of cricket threw up many a hero at the Wayanad Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. But, the most heroic of them was dismissed without scoring.
Sanju Samson’s decision to come out with the bat with a broken finger stunned the opposition and the small number of spectators. But it typified the spirit of this young Kerala team, which has set a target of 195 for Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
On a wicket that has been a dream for seamers and a nightmare for batsmen, it is a challenging score. One way or the other, this match should give us the first semifinalist of the competition on Thursday - with two full days to spare.
As many as 16 wickets fell on the second day. The last of them was that of Samson, who was adjudged lbw to left-arm spinner Axar Patel off what proved to be the last ball of the day.
He had survived nine balls and helped Jalaj Saxena (44 not out, 67b, 7x4) add eight runs for the final wicket. In a low-scoring match, those runs could be crucial.
One man the host would be indebted to is Sijomon Joseph, the left-arm spinner who was promoted up the order.
Coming in at one down, Sijomon made a fighting 56 after facing 148 balls; no other batsman so far has lasted even half as many.
Roosh Kalaria was another hero of the day. After hitting a more than useful 36 in the morning, an innings that helped Gujarat reduce Kerala’s lead to just 23, he claimed a hat-trick; among those wickets was that of Sijomon, who missed the line and was bowled.
Earlier, Gujarat had resumed at the overnight 97 for four. The innings folded up 55 minutes before Lunch, with Kerala’s third seamer M.D. Nidheesh claiming three wickets in the 3.4 overs he bowled on Wednesday.
Sandeep Warrier was once again the leading wicket-taker for the host. The swing bowler finished with four for 42 from 23 overs to take his season’s tally to 35 wickets. His new-ball partner Basil Thampi picked up three wickets.
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