Thiruvananthapuram: A cloud of gloom settled over the Greenfield Stadium as Kerala’s batting performance mirrored the brooding grey skies, ending their innings at a disappointing 219 in response to Maharashtra’s 239. What began with the advantage of winning the toss on Day 1, and even having Maharashtra reeling at 18/5, quickly dissolved into a heap of unfulfilled promise. By the time bad light halted play on Friday, Maharashtra had already raced to 51/0 in just 9 overs, thanks to a fiery unbeaten 37 from Prithvi Shaw, leaving Kerala grappling with a 71-run deficit that felt like a painful blow.
Kerala’s Sanju Samson
The day began with a flicker of hope, but the innings soon unravelled into disarray, largely due to the top order’s confused approach. Opener Akshay Chandran’s painful 21-delivery stay ended prematurely with a duck on Thursday. Baba Aparajith followed quickly, departing for a mere 6 runs. Rohan Kunnumal showed a brief, elegant touch with 27 runs, but then inexplicably threw his wicket away, misjudging a crucial moment.
The atmosphere shifted when Sanju Samson walked to the crease, sparking a buzz of anticipation among the spectators. For a while, he lived up to the hype, unleashing a flurry of effortless whips, drives, and lofted shots. His innings of 54 was a delightful blend of composure and dazzling strokes, but it concluded with a faint under-edge off Vicky Ostwal, smartly collected by Saurabh Nawale behind the stumps. Captain Mohammed Azharuddeen, too, appeared settled with his 36 runs until he, like Samson, edged Ostwal to Nawale.
It was then left to the ever-reliable Salman Nizar to anchor the innings. Demonstrating remarkable calm under pressure, Nizar shrewdly rotated the strike and bravely shielded the tail-enders. He meticulously nudged Kerala closer to parity with a valiant 49 runs, only to be caught in the deep backward point region by Jalaj Saxena off Mukesh Choudhary, falling agonizingly short of his half-century and the lead.
While the pitch undoubtedly presented its challenges, this appeared to be more of a psychological collapse than a purely technical one. Kerala’s top order failed to fire, and their middle and lower order couldn’t convert promising starts into substantial scores. “We worked hard on our batting during the off-season camps,” admitted Kerala pacer MD Nidheesh, but those efforts clearly didn’t translate onto the field today. As Maharashtra walked off with confidence and a significant lead, Kerala was left staring into the overcast skies, desperately searching for answers and a path back into this crucial contest.
Brief Scores: Maharashtra 239 and 51/0 (Prithvi Shaw 37 not out) lead Kerala 219 (Sanju Samson 54, Salman Nizar 49, Jalaj Saxena 3/46) by 71 runs.