Talk about taking one for the team; Salman Nizar was on the verge of scoring his maiden first-class century when Kerala declared at 356/9 in the first session on the final day of their Ranji Trophy Group C match against Bengal in Kolkata on Tuesday.
The left-hander from Thalassery had crafted a patient 95 from 262 balls when the decision to declare was made. He had slowly built from an overnight score of 64 while Mohammed Azharuddeen played the aggressive partner with a 97-ball 84. Kerala were 267/7 at stumps on day 3.
Salman's previous best first-class score was an unbeaten 91, which also came in a Ranji Trophy match that required a rescuing. It was a home match against Punjab at the St Xavier's College Ground in Thumba in January 2020. Salman helped Kerala out of a precarious 89/6 to finish at a respectable 227.
Against Bengal, Kerala had a batting collapse on the second day after day one was washed out. Ishan Porel had reduced the visitors to 51/4 inside 15 overs on day two. The right-arm medium pacer finished with 6/103.
The match ended in a draw with Bengal finishing at 181/3 at close of play. Openers Shuvam Dey (67) and Sudip Chatterjee (57) scored half centuries while Sarvate bagged two wickets.
