Pacer M D Nidheesh bagged his second five-wicket haul in three matches as Kerala restricted Jammu & Kashmir to 228/8 on day one of their Ranji Trophy quarterfinals in Pune on Saturday.

Kerala are without star batter Sanju Samson, who sustained a fracture on his index finger while batting for India in the fifth T20I against England. 

Nidheesh justified his captain Sachin Baby's decision to bowl with three early strikes that left J&K reeling at 48/3. J&K did well in the second session, with Kanhaiya Wadhawan (48) and Sahil Lotra (35) forging a 55-run stand. Nidheesh removed the two set batters to complete his fifer (5/56).

Lone Nasir helped J&K continue the rebuilding process with a valuable 44, getting them past 200. Yudhvir Singh (17) and Auqib Nabi (5) were in the middle at close of play.

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Nidheesh bagged a five-wicket haul in Kerala's draw against Madhya Pradesh in their penultimate group match. Kerala finished second in Group C, unbeaten with three wins and four draws, to qualify for the knockouts. J&K had claimed the top spot in Group A, relegating favourites Mumbai to second place.

Brief scores: J&K 228/8 in 86 overs (Kanhaiya Wadhawan 48, Lone Nasir 44, Sahil Lotra 35, Nidheesh MD 5/56) vs Kerala stumps day one

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