After frustrating Kerala with his batting (37 not out), Mayank Markande destroyed the hosts with his primary skill, bowling, (6/59) to wrest the first innings lead for Punjab on the third day of the Ranji Trophy match at the KCA-St. Xavier’s College ground here on Sunday.
However, Kerala hit back with late wickets to reduce the visitors to 23 for three in the second innings to set up an interesting finish on the final day on Monday.
Markande bowled with guile and control on a track of variable bounce and preyed on the indecision on the batters’ mind to take his wickets. Medium-pacer Gurnoor Brar (3/18) was hostile and lent good support to Markande.
Opener Rohan Kunnummal’s watchful innings came to an end when he went back to cut to a ball that bounced a bit higher than he expected and was caught behind for 15. Captain Sachin Baby (12) played back to a ball that kept low and was trapped in front. Aditya Sarwate (three) and Basil Thampi (zero) were foxed by deliveries that kept low and fizzed off the wicket.
In between, B. Aparajith (three) drove Markande tentatively and was snapped up by Nehal Wadhera at short cover.
Markande celebrates the fall of a wicket.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN
Opener Vathsal Govind (28) looked assured during his stay in the middle and played the spinners with confidence until Emanjot Singh Chahal extracted turn and bounce and forced the batter to edge a catch to the slips.
Brar made an immediate impression after his late introduction and broke the promising stand of 32 between Akshay Chandran and Jalaj Saxena for the fifth wicket
He gave Akshay (17) a working over and induced an edge from the batter with a delivery that moved away. Jalaj (17) wasted his good start by slapping a short ball from Brar to Anmolpreet Singh at mid-on as Kerala slumped to 108 for six.
Azharuddeen (38) and Vishnu Vinod (20 not out) added a quick 38 for the eighth wicket. However, Azharuddeen perished, flicking Brar straight to Emanjot at fine leg. Markande returned and dismissed Sarwate and Thampi off successive balls to give Punjab the lead.
The scores: Punjab – Ist innings: L Abhay Choudhary c Baby b Sarwate 0, Naman Dhir c Aparajith b Sarwate 10, Anmolpreet Singh b Jalaj 28, Prabhsimran Singh b Sarwate 12, Nehal Wadhera b Jalaj 9, Krish Bhagat c Azharuddeen b Jalaj 15, Ramandeep Singh st Azharuddeen b Sarwate 43, Mayank Markande not out 37, Gurnoor Brar b Jalaj 14, Emanjot Singh Chahal c & b Sarwate 1, Siddharth Kaul c Azharuddeen b Jalaj 19; Extras (b-4, lb-2): 6; Total (in 82.5 overs): 194.
Fall-of-wickets: 1-0, 2-15, 3-37, 4-59, 5-62, 6-112, 7-122, 8-140, 9-143
Kerala bowling: Sarwate 33-12-62-5, Thampi 8-0-28-0, Jalaj 30.5-4-81-5, Aparajith 11-2-17-0.
Kerala – Ist innings: Vathsal Govind c Ramandeep b Emanjot 28, Rohan Kunnummal c Prabhsimran b Markande 15, Sachin Baby lbw Markande 12, Baba Aparajith c Wadhera b Markande 3, Akshay Chandran c Prabhsimran b Brar 17, Jalaj Saxena c Anmolpreet b Brar 17, Salman Nizar c Prabhsimran b Markande 13, Mohammed Azharuddeen c Emanjot b Brar 38, Vishnu Vinod not out 20, Aditya Sarwate b Markande 3, Basil Thampi lbw Markande 0; Extras (b-4, lb-9): 13; Total (in 70.4 overs): 179.
Fall-of-wickets: 1-37, 2-57, 3-61, 4-71, 5-103, 6-108, 7-136, 8174, 9-179.
Punjab bowling: Emanjot 24-5-45-1, Bhagat 4-1-3-0, Kaul 4-0-12-0, Markande 21.4-2-59-6, Naman 10-1-29-0, Brar 7-1-18-3.
Punjab – 2nd innings: Abhay Choudhary c Vinod b Aparajith 12, Naman Dhir c Salman b Sarwate 7, Siddharth Kaul c Vinod b Sarwate 0, Krish Bhagat batting 0, Anmolpreet Singh batting 0; Extras (b-4): 4; Total (for three wkts. in 17 overs): 23.
Fall-of-wickets: 1-19, 2-19, 3-19.
Kerala bowling: Sarwate 7-4-8-2, Jalaj 5-1-8-0, Aparajith 5-3-3-1.
Published – October 13, 2024 08:26 pm IST
