Ranji Trophy: Kerala keep Uttar Pradesh on backfoot

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh’s chance to eke out a draw against Kerala in their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy match was thrown into shambles as its in-form batsmen, skipper Aryan Juyal and Priyam Garg , returned to the pavilion, leaving the team tottering at 66/2, still trailing by 167 runs from the hosts’ first-innings total of 395.

Resuming the day at their overnight score of 340/7 at St. Xavier’s KCA Cricket ground in Trivandrum, left-handed batsman Salman Nizar and Azharuddeen (40) added a quick 48 runs before the latter was caught by Juyal off Aaqib Khan in the 123rd over. Salman (93) fell short of his century by seven runs when he was caught by Siddharth off Aaqib.

Pacer Aaqib Khan secured three wickets, while Shivam Mavi , Saurabh Kumar , and Shivam Sharma claimed two wickets apiece.

The UP innings started cautiously, with Madhav Kaushik and Aryan Juyal adding 24 runs for the first wicket before Jalaj Saxena dismissed Aryan for 12. Following Juyal's dismissal, Priyam Garg (22) added 35 runs at a brisk pace with Madhav before throwing away his wicket to Asif. At stumps, Madhav and former captain Nitish Rana (5) remained at the crease. UP will need a stellar performance from their batters to steer the match towards a draw and secure a valuable point.

Speaking to TOI, skipper Aryan Juyal said, "I think the first-day wicket wasn’t favorable for us due to moisture, but it settled later. We were unable to play strokes, but hopefully, we will manage to take the match towards a draw."

Meanwhile, Aaqib Khan said, “We are hopeful the match will end in a draw. The first day was not favorable for us, but later the wicket became conducive for batting."