Kerala drop points at home as Ranji clash against Maharashtra ends in draw

In a major setback for Kerala in their Ranji Trophy opener against Maharashtra, the hosts were forced to settle for just one point after the match ended in a draw, with the visitors clinching the crucial first-innings lead to seal three points at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.

Maharashtra, who earlier secured a 20-run lead in the first innings, batted with far more intent in the second innings before declaring at 224/2. With no outright result in sight, both captains agreed to settle for a draw.

Prithvi Shaw continued from where he left off on the third day as he proved his worth after being dismissed for a duck in the first innings. He and opening partner Arshin Kulkarni gave Kerala’s bowlers little room to manoeuvre, stitching together an 84-run stand.

Akshay Chandran finally broke the partnership in the 19th over by removing Kulkarni for 34, but Kerala’s hopes of triggering a collapse did not materialise as Shaw, along with S A Veer, kept the scoreboard ticking.

N P Basil eventually dismissed Shaw in the 33rd over after adding 37 runs for the second wicket with Veer. The former Mumbai batter signed off with a well-made 75 off 102 balls, including seven boundaries — a confident start to his maiden outing for Maharashtra.

Later, Ruturaj Gaikwad joined Veer in the middle, and the pair added another 103 runs before both captains settled for a draw. Veer made a resilient 55 off 197 while Gikwad made as many runs in 81 balls.

Kerala’s bowlers toiled without success as Maharashtra settled in comfortably, offering the home attack little scope to shift the momentum.

Earlier on day three, Kerala were bowled out for 219, with Sanju Samson (54) and Salman Nizar (49) mounting a brief recovery after the hosts had slumped to 35/3.

Brief scores: Maharashtra 239 & 224/2 d in 71 overs (Prithvi Shaw 75, S A Veer 55 not out, Ruturaj Gaikwad 55 not out, N P Basil 1/23) vs Kerala 219 in 63.2 overs (Sanju Samson 54, Salman Nizar 49, Azharuddeen 36, Jalaj Saxena 3/46, Gurbani 2/49, Choudhary 2/57, Ostwal 2/25).