Kerala edge forward as wickets tumble at Kochi

Kerala took a vital first-innings lead of 44 runs over Madhya Pradesh in a low-scoring match which has seen the bowlers reap rich rewards on a dicey track at the Nehru Stadium in Kochi. At close of play on the second day of the first Plate semi-final Ranji Trophy game, Kerala are 78 for five in their second innings, leading by 122 runs.

Earlier, Kerala skipper Sunil Oasis' decision to bat first after winning the toss on Saturday looked a bit suicidal, as the hosts lost both the openers with just 15 runs on the board. Sixteen runs later, Harvinder Singh Sodhi's right-arm medium pace went on to snare its third victim to leave Kerala reeling at 31/3.

But Hemanth Kumar (43) along with Ajay Kudua (33) and Vipin Lal (28*) averted a total disaster, steering their side to 156 all out. For Madhya Pradesh, old warhorse Narendra Hirwani and Harvinder Singh were the most successful bowlers with three wickets each.

Madhya Pradesh started the second day at their overnight score of 21 for no loss, looking to gain the first innings lead. Into the third over of the morning, Tinu Yohannan trapped Mudassar Pasha (9) right in front of the wicket. And in his following over, Yohannan cleaned up Naman Ojha for a duck. Madhya Pradesh were soon in serious trouble when they lost their third wicket too at the score of 23, Dholpure (10) caught by Kerala skipper Sunil Oasis off Sree Santh.

Wily leg-spinner Ananthapadmanabhan then came to the party, trapping Bundela (13) lbw and precitipating a mini-collapse. Skipper Amay Khurasiya was the next to go after having hit five boundaries and a six in making 43 - out caught and bowled by Ananthapadmanabhan. When Kudua took a smart catch to dismiss Abbas Ali for a duck off Ananthapadmanabhan's bowling, Madhya Pradesh were reduced to 81 for six.

The last four wickets fell for the addition of a mere 31 runs with Suresh Kumar going on to finish with the amazing figures of 8-6-2-2. This meant that Madhya Pradesh were bowled out for a paltry 112.

Batting for the second time, Kerala batsmen had to battle hard under extremely difficult batting conditions. If there were four lbw decisions in the Madhya Pradesh innings, four off the five Kerala batsmen were given out similarly in their second essay; a clear indicator of the state of pitch at Kochi.

Kerala's most prolific scorer of this season Sujit Somasunder lasted just five balls, caught by Ojha off Pandey for a duck. This was followed by four lbw dismissals, including that of Sunil Oasis. The Kerala skipper showed a lot of commitment as he defied the bowling for almost an hour and a half, hitting three boundaries and a six. At close of play, Ajay Kudua (3*) and Vipin Lal (0*) are at the crease.