Ananthapadmanabhan spins Kerala to victory

Veteran spinner K N Ananthapadmanabhan captured five wickets for 55 runs to enable hosts Kerala crush Goa by 158 runs on the final day of the Ranji Trophy Plate 'A' group match in Kochi on Friday.

Needing 270 for victory, Goa were skittled out for 111 in 48.1 overs. Opener Sagun Kamat was the top scorer with 28 and tailender Avinash Aware hit 26. Other batsmen departed cheaply.

Earlier, resuming at 245 for four, Kerala declared at 272 for five, giving Goa a chance to go for an outright victory. However, the visitors succumbed meekly.

Ananthapadmanabhan also achieved personal mark, bagging his 250th wicket in first class cricket.

Kerala got two points for the victory. They will take on Saurashtra at Rajkot from November 19.

Services, Tripura draw

Services failed to capitalise on their big first innings lead and could manage only one point after Tripura, chasing 214 for an outright victory in the second innings, ended the final day of their Ranji trophy Plate group 'A' match on 125 for three, in Delhi, on Friday.

Services declared their second innings at 144 for two, batting only 21 overs, hoping to bowl out the visitors in the remaining two sessions. But Tripura again put on defiant show, courtesy a Ritesh Jaiswal half-century, which was his second of the match.

In 42 overs till close of play, Jaiswal was unbeaten on 59 along with Chetan Sachdeva, who made 19.

Despite the draw, Tripura failed to garner any point. Services bagged the solitary point for securing the first innings lead.

Resuming at their overnight score of 304 for seven, the Tripura tailenders added 46 runs in the morning before Services struck through Sanjay Dhull (5-110) and Sanjeev Mishra (2-25) to dismiss the opposition for 350.

Yashpal Singh, who scored a double century in the first innings, made an unbeaten 67 while first innings centurion Jasveer Singh chipped in with a quickfire 44 not out.

Tripura made a shaky start in the second innings, losing two wickets for 34 runs. But opener Jaiswal partnered S Chander to put on fifty runs for the third wicket. Jaiswal also added 41 runs for the unfinshed fourth wicket with Sachdeva before play ended.

Saurashtra-Vidarbha draw

Left-arm seamer Chandrashekhar Atram claimed four wickets at a crucial juncture as Saurashtra fell just seven runs short of what could have been an exciting victory on the fourth and final day of their Plate 'B' Ranji Trophy tie against Vidarbha in Nagpur on Friday.

Chasing 207 for an outright victory, Saurashtra, riding on a masterly knock of 72 not out by Rakesh Dhruv, were cruising along when Atram (4 for 40) struck, reducing visitors to 200 for eight at close of play at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) ground.

Saurashtra survived some anxious final moments before Dhruv, in the company of injured skipper Sitanshu Kotak (11 not out), guided the team to safety.

Earlier, Vidarbha, overnight 148 for eight, managed to score a decent 218 in 93 overs with valuable contributions from tailenders Madhusudan Acharya (43 not out) and Sandeep Singh (24).

Mail Cricket Editor