Sachin BabyKottayam: Jalaj Saxena's five-wicket haul put Kerala on the verge of gaining the first innings lead against Himachal Pradesh on the second day of their Ranji Trophy group C match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday.
The all-rounder wreaked havoc with his off-spin as Himachal were struggling at 198/8 in reply to Kerala's first innings total of 248 at close of play. Saxena returned figures of 5/53 as Himachal still need 51 more runs to overhaul the Kerala total with only two wickets in hand.
Sumeet Verma (24) and Pankaj Jaiswal (7) were at the crease.
Himachal openers Prashant Chopra (60) and Ankush Bains (22) started confidently and put on 74 for the first wicket before the latter was caught and bowled by Saxena. The outstation star scalped Nikhil Gangta (6) and Paras Dogra (2) cheaply and pacer Sandeep Warrier accounted for Chopra as Himachal slumped to 100/4.
Though Rishi Dhawan (28) and Robin Bist (16) put on 48 runs for the fifth wicket the former fell to K.S. Monish. Soon Bist was castled by left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla as Kerala took control.
Saxena picked up two more to complete his 12th five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
Earlier, Kerala, resuming on 163/4, could add only 85 runs in 34.1 overs for the loss of six wickets on the second morning. Sachin Baby top-scored with a fine 61, while medium-pacer Dhawan was the most succesful Himachal bowler, claiming 4/66. Gurvinder Singh (2/42) and Mayank Daggar (2/45) too chipped in with vital strikes for Himachal who opted to field.
Sachin and V. A. Jagadeesh (35) put on 82 runs for the fifth wicket. But once Sachin was trapped in front of the stumps by Daggar, Kerala lost wickets in a heap. The left-handed Sachin faced 209 balls and hit seven fours in his patient knock.
Brief scores: Kerala 248 in 107.1 overs (Sachin Baby 61, Sanju V. Samson 47; Rishi Dhawan 4/66) vs Himachal Pradesh 198/8 in 56 overs (Prashant Chopra 60; Jalaj Saxena 5/53 )
