Kerala will look for an early course correction as it returns to familiar home terrain against Odisha in a second round match of the Ranji Trophy at the Sports Hub Greenfield stadium here on Sunday.

Kerala’s season opener against Jharkhand in Jamshedpur was chastening as it was thoroughly dominated by its rival. Though Kerala followed-on, it managed to hang on for a draw. But the match exposed Kerala’s limitations in both batting and bowling. It allowed Jharkhand’s lower order to prosper as the host piled up a huge first innings total.

Kerala’s familiar top-order collapse on a flat track, after Abhishek P. Nair’s attacking century, is a major cause of concern. Mohammed Azharuddeen’s lean patch with the bat has continued in this season as well.

However, Abhishek’s century, Aditya Sarvate’s rearguard knock and Vaisakh Chandran’s five-wicket haul were the big takeaways for Kerala from the opening fixture.

To shore up its batting, Kerala has included under-23 captain Abhishek J. Nair who recently lashed an unbeaten ton against Pondicherry. The host will look to maximise its home advantage against Odisha which suffered a crushing 10-wicket defeat in its opening match against Gujarat.

While Odisha had its moments against Gujarat, a second innings collapse on the final day cost it the match. The visitor will be looking for an improved show against the host.

However, the weather may have a decisive say in the outcome of the match. With the arrival of the North East monsoon in Kerala, the capital city has been experiencing steady rainfall for the last few days.

Heavy rain forced the teams to cancel their net sessions on Saturday and with the forecast for more showers in the coming days, the weather could very well play spoilsport.

 

The Tamil Nadu u-23 team began its season on the best possible note, comprehensively beating Rest of India u-23 by six wickets on the final day at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here. 

Fixed a target of 149 in 46 overs for an outright victory, the home team did more than enough in the last two sessions on Sunday. Having conceded the first-innings lead, RoI had no option but to make TN bat again to stand any chance of bagging the trophy. 

The away side did so after declaring its second essay at 431 for seven, built on a splendid double century from opener Angkrish Raghuvanshi (203, 281b, 16×4, 4×6) and a ton off the bat of No. 4 Digvijay Patil (106, 138b, 8×4). While both batters enjoyed slices of luck during their 249-run third-wicket stand, Raghuvanshi was rewarded for his immaculate strokeplay on a surface where the ball turned throughout and kept low at times. 

Left-arm spinner P. Vignesh (five for 144) was the chief contributor for TN, with his victims including Raghuvanshi. A few minutes after reaching his double hundred with a single over sweeper cover, the right-hander holed out to the deep midwicket fielder. RoI lost five wickets for just 32 runs before declaring its second innings. 

TN had a few hiccups in the chase, but the opposition rarely threatened to pull off a miracle.   

The scores: Rest of India u-23 179 & 431/7 decl. in 90 overs (Angkrish Raghuvanshi 203, Ayush Jethwa 58, Digvijay Patil 106, P. Vignesh 5/144) lost to Tamil Nadu u-23 462 & 150/4 in 34.5 overs (K.T.A. Madhava Prasad 42). PoM: Madhava Prasad.