Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003
Tuesday, Nov 18, 2003 |
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Cricket
By Our Sports Reporter
The 23-year-old left-hander cracked a fine century (131 off 303 balls, 14x4) and strung together a 103-run partnership for the ninth wicket with M. Suresh Kumar (56 n.o., 66 balls, 7x4) which helped Kerala gain a stunning 26-run first innings lead early this afternoon. Wobbling at 196 for eight after the day's first over, host Kerala made 321 in its first innings in reply to Railways 295. Railways, with contributions from vice-captain Sanjay Bangar (batting 69, 150 balls, 10x4) and Tejinderpal Singh (50, 52 balls, 7x4), moved to 181 for three by close in its second essay on the penultimate day. After the exit of the seasoned K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan in the day's first over, Kerala was down in the dumps. But Hemant and Suresh, the two left-handers, did not let the pressure get to them. Not even when Suresh suffered two hard blows on his leg. Instead, Hemant protected his limping partner sensibly, often skipping single runs and holding the fort when the dangerous fast bowler Harvinder Singh came on stage. But slowly, after frustrating the Railway bowlers for an hour and half this morning, the two grew in confidence. Suresh, Kerala cricket's great entertainer, needed a runner, but that did not hinder his strokes and he struck medium-pacer Jai Prakash Yadav to consecutive boundaries off the first two balls after lunch to help Kerala take the lead. Suresh also completed his half-century in the first over after lunch, but Hemant, after achieving his goal for the day, made his exit in the same over, caught by wicketkeeper Abhay Sharma off Yadav. Hemant, who had played two Ranji seasons for Tamil Nadu earlier, has scored four centuries but rated today's ton as his best as it came at a very crucial stage. "But I was never under pressure,'' said the MRF employee who also crossed the 1,500-run landmark in first class cricket today. All the ten Kerala wickets fell to medium-pacers. J.P. Yadav, who picked all the three scalps which fell today, completed his five-wicket haul to join Harvinder who had achieved the feat yesterday. Unlike the first innings where he appeared very slow and cautious, Sanjay Bangar's 150-ball knock was studded with 10 boundaries as a dejected Railways opened its second essay. The Test discard also established an 81-run second-wicket stand with the hard-hitting Tejinderpal. Tinu Yohannan, who picked his first Ranji wicket this season yesterday, added one more with the scalp of Railway opener Amit Pagnis today while captain Sunil Oasis and leg-spinner Ananthapadmanabhan shared the other two Railway second innings wickets. Brief scores: Railways 295 & 181 for three in 51 overs (Sanjay Bangar batting 69, Tejinderpal Singh 50) v Kerala 321 in 112.2 overs (C.Hemant Kumar 131, Sreekumar Nair 69, M.Suresh Kumar 56 n.o., Harvinder Singh five for 57, Jai Prakash Yadav five for 101).
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