KOCHI: For some reason, whenever Jalaj Saxena performs, Kerala find themselves in a strong position in this edition of the Ranji Trophy. After Friday, this was the story of the Kerala-Delhi match in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday too.
Nursing an ankle injury sustained during the previous game against Madhya Pradesh, Saxena came into this Elite Group B match more as an off-spinner than all-rounder. But he didn’t let anything stop him from being at his best, with both bat and ball. Due to him Kerala are in sight of six points plus a bonus, which comes with innings and 10-wicket wins.
After hitting a hard-fought and match-turning fifty at an unusual No 8 position on Day 1, the 32-year-old showed again why he is one of the best all-rounders in the domestic circuit. Saxena’s six-for dismantled Delhi for 139 in reply to Kerala’s 320. This was his 17th five-wicket-haul in first-class cricket and second this season. Enforcing a follow-on, Kerala pace duo of Sandeep Warrier and Basil Thampi took the job in their hands to leave Delhi at 41/5 in the second essay.
Delhi were heavily dependent on skipper Dhruv Shorey and Hiten Dalal. With the retirement of Gautam Gambhir and in the absence of Nitish Rana — he is taking part in the ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Colombo — the batting has taken a hit, especially the middle-order.
After losing openers Sarthak Ranjan and Dalal in the first two overs, there was resistance from Shorey and Vaibhav Rawal. But it was short-lived as Saxena dismissed Rawal for 18. The duo shared a 48-run stand for the third wicket. Things were still not lost for Delhi. But like many matches this season, their middle-order failed. From 93/4 they lost six wickets for 46 with only four batsmen reaching double figures.
Even as No 5 Jonty Sidhu tried to stabilise the first innings, there was no support from the other end. The left-hander was Delhi’s top-scorer with a 124-ball 41. For Kerala, left-arm spinner Sijomon Joseph picked up two wickets to complete formalities.
Earlier, the home team added only 29 runs to their overnight score of 291/7 before being bowled out. For Delhi, debutant off-spinner Shivam Sharma returned figures of 6/98.Kerala were determined to make the most of home advantage after back-to-back defeats to Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and they have done it on the first two days. A win will help them get closer to a knockout berth. With 13 points from five, they are fourth on the combined Group A and B tables.But for Delhi, hopes of qualification look like a distant dream. They are 13th with seven points from four. With two more days to go, they trail by 140 runs with Shorey unbeaten on 13. Even a draw looks improbable considering the way Delhi’s batsmen have performed so far.
Brief scores: Kerala 320 (V Manoharan 77; S Sharma 6/98) vs Delhi 139 (J Saxena 6/39) & 41/5 (S Warrier 3/16).