Ranji Trophy, Round 2, Day 3: Punjab closes in on first-innings lead even as Kerala desperately clings on
Punjab exploited the low bounce of a deteriorating day three pitch to smother Kerala’s aspiration of batting out time in their Group B Ranji Trophy match at the PCA New Cricket Stadium, Ground B on Monday.
Vathsal Govind, Ankit Sharma (62, 152b, 6×4, 1×1), and Mohammed Azharuddeen (43, 72b, 2×4, 2×6) were left to rue their luck in front of deliveries that zipped in low and pinned them in front.
B. Aparajith (39 n.o., 49b, 6×4) and Ahammed Imran constantly ventured out of their crease to avoid a similar fate. They took Kerala to 247, 189 away from parity with four wickets in hand on the final day.
Ankit took on the pacers in the morning session when he clipped Ayush Goyal for four before upper-cutting Krish Bhagat over third man for a maximum.
However, Kerala’s intentions became clear when Vathsal retreated into a shell and refused to employ any other stroke apart from his front-footed defence.
Kerala played out five straight maidens from the 13th to 17th over. And once Vathsal finally opted for a sweep against Naman Dhir, the delivery crept under his bat, making his painstaking 106-ball 18 an effort in vain.
Ankit and Rohan Kunnummal learned the lesson and were much more proactive. Kunnummal charged down to Dhir and lofted him over long on. Ankit used width from Mayank Markande and lashed him through covers.
The pair went after Dhir post-lunch also, with Ankit pummeling him through midwicket for four runs and Kunnummal charging and lofting down the ground again in the same over.
But even the flourishing third-wicket partnership could not escape the ‘untrue’ bounce and ended on 69 when Ramandeep trapped Ankit in front.
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Kunnummal was snaffled by keeper Salil Arora after his attempted late cut off Prerit Dutta could only get an edge.
Azharuddeen and Sachin Baby fought hard to keep Kerala’s momentum and added quick runs.
To push Azharuddeen into his crease, Ayush Goyal opted for bouncers, also setting up the bluff for a length ball that could skid in and do the trick.
The Kerala captain unfurled his hook for the two bouncers from Ayush, picking up 10 runs in boundaries. Yet, Punjab got what it was after only through Krish Bhagat, whose length ball zoomed in and rapped Azharuddeen’s immobile front foot.
Sachin picked on the tweakers, cutting Markande and driving Dhir through mid-off for two boundaries. But his fall came against the run of play, and a delivery from Dhir straightened to beat his bat and get him leg-before.
With Kerala staring down the barrel, Aparajith took his chances with the pitch and launched a fightback.
Off the first delivery he faced, he drove Bhagat between mid-on and mid-off before moving towards covers and drilling Ramandeep for another boundary.
On multiple occasions, Aparajith had to crouch low to fend away deliveries with low bounce.
Imran joined in with his clip over square leg and a nudge through fine leg in the same over from Goyal.
Their unbeaten 48-run alliance handed the final hour to Kerala, leaving the visitor with a glimmer of hope of taking the contest close.
Published on Oct 27, 2025
