Ranji Trophy 2023-24: Jalaj Saxena mesmerises for Kerala, takes seven wickets in opposition to hapless Bengal

Bengal’s worst fears got here true after Tea on the second day of the Ranji Trophy cricket match in opposition to Kerala on the St.Xavier’s College floor on Saturday.

The pitch – which modified its character from batter-friendly to spin-friendly within the first session, seeing Kerala finish its innings at 363 – provided beneficiant bounce and switch. Jalaj Saxena, for the primary time this season, hit kind and, in a mesmerising spell (7/67), decreased Bengal to 172 for seven.

Karan Lal (22 batting) – who was bowled off a Jalaj no ball – and Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (9 batting) added 21 runs for the ninth wicket.

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Jalaj was relentless and stored pitching the ball on the identical spot from the place it bounced and turned. He different the tempo and line to confuse the batter. Only opener Abhimanyu Easwaran regarded able to coping with Jalaj’s variations.

But Easwaran, after parrying Jalaj for lengthy, feathered a catch to Rohan Kunnummal at short-leg.

Easwaran’s dismissal opened the floodgates and Bengal batters fell like useless petals. Bengal collapsed from 107 for one to 151 for eight as Jalaj took all seven wickets. He additionally bowled Karan however overstepped to provide a life to the batter.

Karan and Suraj added helpful runs to frustrate Kerala within the remaining session.

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Early within the morning, Sachin Baby and Akshay Chandran batted with none alarms in opposition to the medium pacers and prolonged the fifth-wicket partnership to 179 runs. However, left-arm spinners Ankit Mishra and Shahbaz Ahmed relished the bounce on supply and made life tough for Kerala batters.

Manoj Tiwary caught Sachin Baby within the slips because the ball turned and bounced. Azharuddeen (13) began off with a boundary however perished, making an attempt to assault Mishra and was caught within the deep.

Akshay Chandran (106) accomplished his century however was bowled by Shahbaz. Kerala misplaced wickets in a rush because it slumped to 324 for eight. But Basil Thampi (20) and N.P. Basil (16) added helpful runs which propped up the entire.