Group C: Saxena spins Kerala to innings win over UP; Bengal hold Karnataka; MP win

Thumba (Kerala) | Veteran spinner Jalaj Saxena grabbed six wickets as Kerala outclassed Uttar Pradesh by an innings and 117 runs to keep themselves close to a knockout berth from Group C of the Ranji Trophy here on Saturday.

Kerala now have 15 points and are placed second in the group behind Haryana (17), while UP are on fifth slot with five points after four rounds.

After most of the third day was interrupted by heavy rain and a leaky dressing room, Kerala were in no mood to wait for the mercy of the weather on the final day, bundling out UP, who resumed from overnight 66 for two, for 116.

Saxena-led Kerala bagged the remaining eight Uttar Pradesh wickets for a mere 50 runs to celebrate their second outright win of the season, and that too with a bonus point for an innings victory.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) apologised for the dressing room leakage fiasco.

“We deeply regret any inconvenience caused to players and officials and appreciate their understanding and patience.

“The KCA will assess and address the required improvements to enhance the infrastructure and withstand adverse weather events in the future,” the KCA informed through their X account.

Bengal hold Karnataka

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Bengal earned three points from the draw against Karnataka by virtue of their first innings lead and moved up to fourth position on the table with eight points.

Once Bengal made 283 for five declared in their second innings to build an overall lead of 363 runs, the fate of the match was sealed.

Sudip Kumar Gharami made an unbeaten 101 (193b, 12x4, 2x6) and added 123 runs for the sixth wicket with Wriddhiman Saha (63 not out, 70b, 7x4, 1x6).

The home side made 110 for three before both the skippers agreed for a draw.

Karnataka are placed fourth on the table with 9 points and they will face UP in their next fixture.

Bengal will travel to Indore to take on Madhya Pradesh, who defeated Bihar by an innings and 108 runs to earn seven points to move up to third place on the ladder.

Though both have similar points, MP are in third place because of their better net run rate – +1.15 against Karnataka’s +0.99.

Brief scores:

In Thumba: Uttar Pradesh 162 and 116 all out in 37.5 overs (Madhav Kaushik 36; Jalaj Saxena 6/41, Aditya Sarvate 3/15) lost to Kerala: 395 all out in 124.1 overs (Salman Nizar 93, Sachin Baby 83, Mohammed Azharuddeen 40; Aaqib Khan 3/51) by an innings 117 runs.

Kerala: 7 points; UP: 0.

In Patna: Madhya Pradesh 616 beat Bihar: 347 and 161 all out in 60.5 overs (Sakibul Gani 76 not out, Vaibhav Suryavanshi 41; Kumar Kartikeya Singh 4/40, Kulwant Khejroliya 3/33) by an innings and 108 runs.

MP: 7 points; Bihar: 0.

In Bengaluru: Bengal 301 and 283/5 declared in 81.4 overs (Sudip Kumar Gharami 101 not out, Wriddhiman Saha 63 not out; Vidyadhar Patil 3/53) drew with Karnataka 221 and 110/3 in 28 overs (R Smaran 35 not out, Manish Pandey 30 not out; Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal 3/27).

Bengal: 3 points, Karnataka: 1.