Nidheesh and Basil scythe by way of Maharashtra high order

A flawless opening hour, that noticed Kerala bowlers M.D. Nidheesh and N.P. Basil scythe by way of the Maharashtra high order with swing and bounce, put the host in command on the finish of the opening day’s play within the Ranji Trophy on the Sports Hub, Greenfield Stadium, right here on Wednesday.

A dutiful accumulation by Ruturaj Gaikwad (91, 151b, 11×4) and his 122-run sixth-wicket partnership with Jalaj Saxena (49, 106b, 4×4) carried Maharashtra from 18 for 5 to 179 for seven when dangerous mild and rain stopped play 37 minutes after tea.

Quick strikes

Earlier, Kerala captain Mohammed Azharuddeen referred to as it proper and opted to area. He gambled by giving the brand new ball to Nidheesh and the medium-pacer reposed the religion by pinning Prithvi Shaw (0) in entrance with an inswinger. Siddesh Veer (0) feathered a catch to Azharuddeen as Maharashtra slipped to zero for 2 within the first over.

Basil received the ball to bounce and it took the sting of Arshin Kulkarni’s (0) bat and was snapped by a diving Rohan Kunnummal on the second slip. Basil then had captain Ankit Bawne (0) taking part in on to go away Maharashtra in dire straits (5/4). Nidheesh, who has labored on his inswingers this season, trapped Nawale in entrance as Maharashtra slipped to 18 for 5.

Aggressive

Jalaj walked in to bat in opposition to his former teammates and was overtly aggressive. The sixth-wicket pair exploited the higher batting circumstances after the primary hour to frustrate the house bowlers.

Ruturaj cowl drove and sq. lower Eden Apple Tom for successive boundaries to succeed in his fifty. However, Nidheesh nipped one again to lure Jalaj in entrance for 49.

Eden redeemed himself after an erratic first spell to dismiss Ruturaj in opposition to the run of play. He was just a little late because the ball from Eden cannoned onto his pads. Light deteriorated quickly, forcing the umpires to cease play when Vicky Ostwal (10) and Ramakrishna Ghosh (11) have been batting.

The scores: Maharashtra — Ist Innings: Prithvi Shaw lbw b Nidheesh 0, Arshin Kulkarni c Rohan b Basil 0, Siddhesh Veer c Azharuddeen b Nidheesh 0, Ruturaj Gaikwad lbw b Eden 91, Ankit Bawne b Basil 0, Saurabh Nawale lbw b Nidheesh 12, Jalaj Saxena lbw b Nidheesh 49, Vicky Ostwal (batting) 10, Ramakrishna Ghosh (batting) 11; Extras (lb-1, w-5): 6; Total (for seven wkts. in 59 overs): 179.

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 4-5, 5-18, 6-140, 7-164.

Kerala bowling: Nidheesh 15-5-42-4, Basil 15-6-44-2, Eden 9-1-38-1, Ankit 13-2-33-0, Aparajith 3-0-8-0, Akshay 4-0-13-0.

Toss: Kerala.