Kottayam: Iqbal Abdulla slammed a career-best unbeaten 157 as Kerala amassed 506/9 at stumps on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match against Hyderabad in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
The outstation player scored his second first-class hundred and put Kerala in a strong position. The 26-year-old left-hander has hit 14 fours and six sixes in his 214-ball knock. Abdulla added 141 runs for the eighth wicket in the company of fellow all-rounder K.S. Monish (40). The last-wicket pair of Abdulla and Sandeep Warrier (1 batting) has put on 20 so far.
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Earlier, resuming on 223/4, both Sachin Baby and Jalaj Saxena missed out on hundreds. Sachin made 80, while Saxena was dismissed for 79. Robert Fernandez failed to grab the chance yet gain and could contribute just 12.
Kerala were 312/7 when Sachin was trapped in front of the wicket by left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan. However, Abdulla's big hundred meant Kerala have the upper hand going into the final two days of the contest.
Brief scores: Kerala 506/9 in 180 overs (Iqbal Abdulla 157 batting, Sachin Baby 80, Jalaj Saxena 79, K.S. Monish 40; Mehdi Hasan 3/134) vs Hyderabad.