Kerala won the toss, unleashed fast bowler M. D. Nidheesh on Jammu and Kashmir, and ensured that his five-wicket haul restricted the opponent to 228 for 8 on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinals.
With the surface at the MCA Stadium offering a tinge of green, Nidheesh (5 for 56) exploited the early morning conditions and bowled stump-to-stump to reap benefits as J&K top-order struggled.
Despite a cautious start, J&K opener and the team’s highest run-getter in the season, Shubham Khajuria, ended up offering a regulation catch to captain Sachin Baby, allowing Nidheesh to find the breakthrough.
Thereafter, Nidheesh tightened the noose and claimed two quick wickets of Vivrant Sharma Yawer Hassan to help Kerala gain the upper hand. While Vivrant looked shaky throughout before nicking one to the wicketkeeper, a peach of a delivery rattled Hassan’s off stump, adding to J&K’s woes.
Having lost three wickets for 66 runs in the first session, the onus was on captain Paras Dogra to steady the innings. However, his poor run with the willow continued as he perished off a Basil Thampi delivery shortly after lunch.
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Things would have gone haywire had Kanhaiya Wadhawan (48, 80b, 5×4) and Sahil Lotra (35, 125b, 3×4) not forged a 55-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Coming on the back of a gritty fifty against Baroda in the previous game, wicketkeeper-batter Wadhawan adapted to the conditions well and kept the scoreboard ticking. As the wicket eased out, Wadhawan hit a few boundaries, but ran out of luck as he fell just two runs short of a well-deserved fifty after being caught at covers by Rohan Kunnumal off Nidheesh.
However, Lotra paired with Lone Nasir Muzaffar (44, 97b, 3×4) to build another 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket to ensure that the team inched closer to the 200-run mark. Both looked sorted before Aditya Sarwate broke the partnership, cleaning up Lotra and once the momentum was broken, Nidheesh struck again to claim his fifth wicket as Muzaffar was caught by captain Baby.
However, J&K tail-enders managed to hold fort for the last six overs of the day and avoided further dents.