Ranji Trophy 2025-26: MP rescues draw against Kerala after dogged batting display
When Kerala and Madhya Pradesh met in the 2024-25 Ranji Trophy, Kerala escaped with a draw in the dying embers of the day. The tables turned at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Wednesday, as Kumar Kartikeya Singh (16 not out) and Aryan Pandey (23 not out) put on a dogged display of final hour resistance to rescue a draw for the host in their Elite Group-B match.
Kerala’s batting dominance had been led by the experience of Sachin Baby (122 not out) and Baba Aparajith (105), but it was the youth of Sreehari Nair (four for 51) and Eden Apple Tom (two for 33) – who combined for six wickets – that bowled it to the precipice of victory on the final day.
Sreehari dominated the early phases of the MP innings, bowling 19 overs unchanged from the Madhavrao Scindia End in his first spell, and showing guile as he chipped away on a relatively docile pitch.
ALSO READ: Rinku Singh shines as Uttar Pradesh secures lead in drawn contest against Tamil Nadu
He induced Harsh Gawli (0) to chip a catch to cover after four balls, and Yash Dubey (19) followed after playing down the wrong line. Himanshu Mantri (26) was caught at short leg, while Harpreet Singh Bhatia (13) was felled by one that kept low. MP sunk even further when Abhijith Praveen V. punished a mix-up between Shubham Sharma (18) and Rishabh Chouhan (7) with a direct hit, leaving the MP skipper short of his ground.
Shubham’s departure brought Saransh Jain (31) to the crease, who looked to calm matters down with Chouhan. The pair survived until tea, but Chouhan fell two overs after the resumption to Eden’s nip-backer. Saransh batted with security, but nicked a full ball from Eden behind.
Kerala surprisingly replaced Eden with M.D. Nidheesh (one for 16), but the senior pacer struck immediately, squaring up Mohammad Arshad Khan (6) to leave MP eight down.
With time running out in the day, Kartikeya and Aryan fought hard, surviving 119 balls. Kerala tried both pace and spin with attacking fields, but all proved insufficient as the pair helped MP seal an unlikely point.
Earlier in the day, Baby and Aparajith became the first Kerala batters to register centuries this season. Ahammed Imran (24) and Abhijith (11) struck a few boundaries but fell to Saransh (three for 61) before Kerala called time on its innings on 313 for five, 403 runs ahead.
However, Kerala may now look back on that phase and wonder whether it could have declared earlier, as it is left to ponder a missed opportunity to convert three crucial points to six.
Scores
Kerala – 1st innings: 281.
Madhya Pradesh – 1st innings: 192.
Kerala – 2nd innings: Rohan Kunnummal lbw b Kartikeya 7, Abhishek J. Nair c Chouhan b Kuldeep 30, Sachin Baby (not out) 122, Mohammed Azharuddeen c Harpreet b Saransh 2, Baba Aparajith retired hurt 105, Ahammed Imran lbw b Saransh 24, Abhijith Praveen V. c Aryan b Saransh 11, Ankit Sharma (not out) 0; Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-1, w-3): 13; Total (for five wkts. in 84 overs): 314.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-79, 3-82, 4-300, 5-314.
Madhya Pradesh bowling: Aryan 13-3-48-0, Kartikeya 23-5-56-1, Arshad 15-0-68-0, Saransh 17-1-61-3, Kuldeep 16-1-72-1.
Madhya Pradesh – 2nd innings: Harsh Gawli c sub (Krishna) b Sreehari 0, Yash Dubey b Sreehari 19, Himanshu Mantri c sub (Krishna) b Sreehari 26, Shubham Sharma run out (Abhijith) 18, Harpreet Singh Bhatia lbw b Sreehari 13, Rishabh Chouhan lbw b Eden 7, Saransh Jain c Azharuddeen b Eden 31, Aryan Pandey (not out) 23, Mohammad Arshad Khan c Kunnummal b Nidheesh 6, Kumar Kartikeya Singh (not out) 16; Extras (lb-8): 8; Total (for eight wkts. in 69 overs): 167.
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-33, 3-52, 4-70, 5-78, 6-107, 7-114, 8-126.
Kerala bowling: Sreehari 30-13-51-4, Nidheesh 6-3-16-1, Ankit 21-4-55-0, Eden 10-3-33-2, Imran 2-1-4-0.
Published on Nov 19, 2025
