Ranji Trophy: Jaffer, Satish boost Vidarbha against Kerala

Nagpur: Holders Vidarbha reached 239/6 on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group A match against Kerala here on Tuesday.

Half-centuries by veterans Wasim Jaffer and Ganesh Satish propped up the hosts after they lost openers Aniruddha Choudhary (0) and Faiz Fazal (10) with only 23 on the board.

M D Nidheesh accounted for Fazal, while his new-ball partner N P Basil sent back Choudhary.

Jaffer and Satish added 104 runs for the third wicket. Off-spinner Vinoop Manoharan broke the stand by removing Jaffer. The right-hander hit seven fours and a six in his 149-ball knock.

Nidheesh provided a big breakthrough for Kerala as he forced Satish to nick one to Mohammed Azharuddeen behind the stumps. Satish's 142-ball knock was laced with nine fours.

Vidarbha were 166/4 when rain stopped play briefly. On resumption, the hosts lost Akshay Wadkar (8) and S K Wath (43) as they slipped to 198/6.

However, Aditya Sarwate (22 batting) and Akshay Karnewar (24 batting) made sure Kerala did not enjoy any more success.

Earlier, Kerala captain Jalaj Saxena elected to bowl on winning the toss.

Kerala, playing their final group game, are in danger of being relegated to Group C. They have just nine points from seven matches and are in 16th place in the 18-team Group A and B. The two bottom-placed sides will be relegated.

Vidarbha are in eighth spot with 17 points from six games.

Brief scores: Vidarbha 239/6 in 84 overs (Ganesh Satish 58, Wasim Jaffer 57, S K Wath 43; M D Nidheesh 3/53, N P Basil 2/39) vs Kerala.