Bad luck follows Kerala to Jharkhand as dubious LBWs turn memorable comeback into defeat

Misfortune followed Kerala in their Cooch Behar Trophy campaign against Jharkhand, where the visitors narrowly lost after nearly completing a memorable comeback.

Kerala lost by six runs to the hosts in front of a hostile crowd at Hazaribagh on the fourth and final day of the U-19 men's match. It was a heartbreaking defeat for the touring side that had made a terrific recovery from 82/7 and 112/8 in pursuit of a 187-run target.

Captain Manav Krishna forged a 67-run partnership with Abhinav K V for the ninth wicket. Abhinav fell for 11 after withstanding the pressure for 49 deliveries. Manav made a brilliant 71 off 100, and his was the last wicket to fall.

Incidentally, five of Kerala's wickets were LBW, including that of India U-19 star Mohammed Enaan, most of which, according to a source, appeared like questionable calls by the umpires.

Kerala had taken a solid 127-run lead in the first innings with Enaan claiming a fifer and Madhav Krishna scoring 139. Amay Manoj bagged a fifer for Kerala in the second innings, while Thomas Mathews took three.

Kerala had also been unlucky in their previous Cooch Behar match against Hyderabad in Hyderabad. The hosts were staring at defeat after being reduced to 245/9 and needing 105 more when the umpires stopped play, claiming bad light, denying Kerala a first win.

Before that, Manav played one of the best innings by a Kerala player this season in a home match against Saurashtra. Kerala had been on the verge of an innings defeat before Manav made 189 off 233 to give the visitors something to chase. Kerala lost the match by eight wickets, but Manav's valiant effort stood out. The right-hander was top of the run-getters list after the first three matches, and is fifth in the all-India list now with 468 runs from 7 innings. Kerala's next match is against Baroda in Vadodara, starting December 16.

Brief scors: Jharkhand 206 (Enaan 5/84, Ashlin 3/42) & 313 in 104 overs (Anmol Raj 133, Yash Rathore 77, Amay Manoj 5/57, Thomas Mathews 3/78) bt Kerala 333 in 101.5 overs (Madhav Krishna 139, Abhinav 50, Deepanshu Rawat 6/105, Ishan Om 3/114) & 180 in 64.1 overs (Manav Krishna 71, Ishan Om 5/51)