A flawless opening hour saw Kerala bowlers M.D. Nidheesh and N.P. Basil scythe through the Maharashtra top order with swing and bounce, putting the host firmly in command at the end of the opening day’s play in their Ranji Trophy clash at the Sports Hub, Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
A steady accumulation by Ruturaj Gaikwad (91, 151b, 11x4) and his 122-run sixth-wicket stand with Jalaj Saxena (49, 106b, 4x4) carried Maharashtra from the depths of 18 for five to 179 for seven when bad light and rain stopped play, 37 minutes after tea.
Earlier, Kerala captain Mohammed Azharuddeen won the toss and opted to field. He handed the new ball to Nidheesh, who repaid the faith by trapping Prithvi Shaw (0) in front with an inswinger. Siddesh Veer (0) then feathered an edge to Azharuddeen as Maharashtra slipped to nought for two in the first over.
ALSO READ: Padikkal, Karun partnership puts Karnataka in control against Saurashtra on Day 1
Basil extracted extra bounce to find the edge of Arshin Kulkarni’s (0) bat, which was snapped up by a diving Rohan Kunnummal at second slip. Basil then had captain Ankit Bawne (0) playing on, leaving Maharashtra in dire straits at five for four. Nidheesh, who has worked hard on his inswing this season, trapped Saurabh Nawale with an inducker as the side slipped further to 18 for five.
Jalaj walked in to face his former teammates and was overtly aggressive. The sixth-wicket pair took advantage of the improved batting conditions after the first hour to frustrate the Kerala bowlers.
Gaikwad drove through the covers and cut square for successive boundaries off Eden Apple Tom to reach his fifty. But Nidheesh struck again, nipping one back to trap Jalaj (49) in front. Eden redeemed himself after an erratic first spell to dismiss Gaikwad (91) against the run of play — the batter was a touch late as the ball cannoned onto his pads.
Light deteriorated rapidly, forcing the umpires to call off play with Vicky Ostwal (10 batting) and Ramakrishna Ghosh (11 batting) at the crease.
Published on Oct 15, 2025
Comments
SHARE