Kerala's innings was a curious narrative of three parts — accumulation, disintegration, and mini-resurgence — as it finished at 319 on the first day of the Buchi Babu memorial all-India tournament final against Maharashtra on Monday.
Skipper V.A. Jagadeesh (98, 178b, 12x4, 1x6) and Abhishek Hegde (74, 143b, 7x4, 3x6) led the way with an opening partnership of 165 before Maharashtra clawed back into the match. The duo mixed positive, uninhibited strokeplay with some fine running between-the-wickets.
Jagadeesh initiated the leather hunt with a ‘swat-drive' past seamer Sangram Attitkar. His partner showed a liking for the on-side, hoisting and slog-sweeping left-arm spinner Ajinkya Joshi with ease. With the bowler not getting much turn, the portly Abhishek repeatedly, and successfully, swung across the line.
Baffling
It was baffling why Joshi, who wasn't causing much alarm, was persisted with for the majority of the opening session. After Kerala reached its 100 in the 26th over, there was a concerted effort by the fielding side to check the scoring rate. Left-arm pacer Samad Fallah (three for 91) bowled wide outside the off-stump with seven — at times, eight — fielders guarding the off-side.
Only 35 runs were scored in the next 15 overs. Maharashtra's parsimony was rewarded with a cluster of wickets in the post-lunch session.
Abhishek perished in his endeavour to accelerate the run-rate.
But, the slide became more pronounced when Jagadeesh, batting with tremendous resolve until then, was trapped in front by Joshi on 98. An attempted paddle-sweep denied him a well-deserved hundred.
Three more wickets fell in quick succession with off-spinner Chirag Khurana (three for 54) sending back two batsmen in one over. Having been reduced to 232 for five, Kerala's chances of pressing for a 350-plus score looked tough.
Reviving the innings
K.J. Rakesh (46, 65b, 4x4, 3x6) forged a 51-run alliance with 'keeper Akshay Kodoth to resurrect the innings. Rakesh's duel with Joshi was particularly engaging: the southpaw played and missed a few cut shots before producing some majestic hits. He was eventually yorked by Khurana.
Along with Fallah, who got the old ball to veer late into the left-handers, Dominic Muthuswamy returned for a lethal final burst. The Kerala tail resisted, albeit for a short while, before it was blown away on the verge of stumps. M.V. Sanuth remained unbeaten on 24.
The scores (final): Kerala 319 in 88.3 overs (Abhishek Hegde 74, V.A. Jagadeesh 98, K.J. Rakesh 46) vs. Maharashtra.
