Pune: Kerala lost two wickets in reply to Jammu and Kashmir in the Ranji Trophy cricket quarter-final. Opening batsman Rohan Kunnumal (36) and Shaun Roger (6) were dismissed. Rohan’s innings was hit by 7 fours. Akshay Chandran and skipper Sachin Baby were at the crease with 21 runs. Pacer Yudhvir Singh dismissed both of them.
Jammu and Kashmir declared at 399 for nine in the second innings. Jammu had conceded a one-run lead in the first innings. Jammu, who started batting on 180 for three on the fourth day, were boosted by captain Paras Dogra’s century.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Kanhaiya Dhawan (64) and Sahil Lothra (59) scored half-centuries as the team reached 399. Skipper Parvas Dogra, who scored 132 runs, was the top scorer for Jammu. Apart from them, Vivrant Sharma (37), Lone Nazir Musafir (28) and Yudhveer Singh (27) also performed well.
Pacer M.D. Nitish took four wickets for Kerala. Aditya Sarwate and N.P. Basil took two wickets and Jalaj Saxena took one wicket. Salman Nisar’s century in the first innings helped Kerala.
Salman Nisar, who was at 200 for nine, took the team to 281 runs in the partnership of Basil Thampi. With this, Kerala took a crucial lead of one run. Even if the match is tied, Kerala can advance to the semi-finals on the strength of its first innings lead.
