CONRAD DIAS
Ranchi, Dec 14: Jharkhand’s ace spinner Shahbaz Nadeem took a fifer (5-167) as Kerala was bowled out for 475 during the second day of the Elite Group C match of Ranji Trophy 2022-23, held at JSCA international stadium.
Kerala’s Akshay Chandran was the star performer for the visitors as the southpaw top scored with 150 off 268 deliveries. Kerala’s skipper and start Indian batter Sanju Samson also chipped in with a crucial 72 as his inning included seven sixes. The opening duo of R Prem and Kunnummal also scored 79 and 50 respectively.
Jharkhand’s inning got to a poor start as they lost their opener, Utkarsh Singh, for 3 when the team’s total was 5. The host team ended the day with a score of 87 for 3 with skipper Virat Singh (18*) and Saurabh Tiwary (13*) in the crease.
The stadium had very few crowds during the match and the majority of the crowd was rooting for the local boy Ishan Kishan after his heroics in the ODI series in Bangladesh.
Kishan is yet to bat in the match and with three days remaining, spectators feel day three would be an interesting day for the game.