Time for Sanju’s bat to do the talking as Maharashtra leave Kerala reeling at 35/3

Kerala will once again turn to their most experienced batting duo of Sachin Baby and Sanju Samson when play resumes on Day 3 of the Ranji Trophy opener against Maharashtra, with the hosts in trouble.

Rohan S Kunnummal had failed to read a Jalaj Saxena delivery that turned a little to trap him leg before and leave Kerala reeling at 35/3. Sachin Baby had walked in an over ago when Baba Aparajith became Rajneesh Gurbani's second victim. Akshay Chandran was the first to fall, for a duck, after surviving 20 deliveries.

Next up for Kerala, at least as per the batting order, was Sanju Samson, but rain that had frequently troubled the players and officials returned and refused to relent, forcing early stumps, just like on Day 1.

Kerala trail by 204 runs, and would hope Sanju and Sachin can stitch up a partnership. Sanju is returning to the state team after missing the best part of a historic Ranji campaign last season, which culminated in a maiden final.

Earlier on the day, the first session was almost entirely ruined by rain. Maharashtra resumed at 179/7 and folded for 239. Vicky Ostwal and Ramakrishna Ghosh forged a 59-run stand to help the visitors to a respectable total.

Gurbani's dismissal gave pacer M D Nidheesh his five-wicket haul, while N P Basil finished with 3/57. On day 1, Maharashtra had managed to recover from an early collapse that left them reeling at 18/5. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 91 and Jalaj Saxena's 49 had steered them to safety.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 239 in 84.1 overs (Gaikwad 91, Saxena 49, Vicky Ostwal 38, Ramakrishna Ghosh 31, MD Nidheesh 5/49, NP Basil 3/57) vs Kerala 35/3 in 10.4 overs (Rohan S Kunnummal 27, Rajneesh Gurbani 2/20). Stumps on Day 2