Kerala’s disappointing campaign in the Ranji Trophy came to a predictable end on Monday. Its Group ‘C’ match with Assam ended in a draw at the Thalassery Cricket Stadium.
Assam should not be unhappy with that result, as it finished with 38 points; it had already advanced to the knock-out stage as the top team from the weakest pool. Andhra also made it, with 28 points, pushing Himachal Pradesh behind by just one point. Kerala (20 points) finished sixth in a group of nine.
On the final day, Assam resumed at 26 without loss in its second innings and was 188 for six when the captains agreed upon an early finish. Opener Pallavkumar Das (72) and K.B. Arun Karthik (62) were the main scorers.
Amit Verma, who made 142 and took three wickets in the Assam first innings with his leg-spin, was named Man-of-the-Match. He has been one of the few positives for Kerala this season, with two hundreds and as many five-wicket hauls. The scores:
Assam — 1st innings: 344. Kerala — 1st innings: 266. Assam — 2nd innings: Pallavkumar Das c Sanju b Monish 72, Kunal Saikia c Sanju b Basil 11, Sibsankar Roy c Sanju b Raiphi 13, Gokul Sharma c Sachin b Monish 1, K.B. Arun Karthik 62, Swarupam Purkayastha lbw b Sachin 4, Tarjinder Singh (not out) 7, Syed Mohammed (not out) 4; Extras (b-6, lb-3, w-1, nb-4): 14; Total (for six wkts. in 85 overs): 188. Fall of wickets: 1-27, 2-53, 3-54, 4-165, 5-176, 6-176. Kerala bowling: P.U. Anthaf 14-7-23-0, Basil Thampi 10-3-21-1, Raiphi Vincent Gomez 10-5-16-1, S. Monish 24-5-51-3, Rohan Prem 10-2-24-0, Amit Verma 8-0-24-0, Sachin Baby 9-1-20-1.
Man-of-the-Match: Amit Verma.
