Hosts Jharkhand secured three points from their opening Ranji Trophy Group C fixture after their match against Kerala ended in a draw at Keenan Stadium in Jamshedpur on Wednesday, with the hosts taking a crucial 192-run first-innings lead.Resuming the final day on 269/6, Kerala’s Salman Nizar and Aditya Sarwate continued to frustrate the Jharkhand bowlers, adding another 84 runs to their seventh-wicket partnership, which eventually yielded 104. The stand raised hopes of Kerala extending their resistance and denying the hosts the first-innings advantage.However, left-arm spinner Manishi finally broke through towards the end of the first session, dismissing Nizar for 43. Kerala’s resistance collapsed thereafter as they lost their last three wickets for just 35 runs to be bowled out for 395.Sarwate was the penultimate batter to fall as he missed a well-deserved century by just five runs, edging Utkarsh Singh behind to Robin Minz.Manishi and off-spinner Utkarsh were Jharkhand’s most successful bowlers, claiming four wickets apiece, while all-rounder Md Kounain Quraishi took the other two wickets.With Jharkhand holding a substantial lead and little time remaining in the match, captain Virat Singh enforced the follow-on. Kerala reached 62/2 in their second innings before the match ended in a draw. Utkarsh and Quraishi claimed one wicket each in the second innings.Utkarsh was named Player of the Match for his all-round contribution. The left-handed batter had scored 71 in Jharkhand’s only innings and finished with five wickets in the match with his right-arm off-spin.Jharkhand’s imposing first-innings total of 587 had been built around three centuries from opener Shikhar Mohan, captain Virat Singh and No. 7 batter Aditya Singh. Their collective effort proved decisive on a pitch that remained largely unhelpful for the bowlers, with the first-innings lead ultimately determining the outcome.The surface began to offer more assistance to the spinners on the third and fourth days, allowing Jharkhand’s slow bowlers to make the crucial breakthroughs and secure the first-innings advantage.The draw earned Jharkhand three points and Kerala one.Jharkhand will next travel to Pune to face Maharashtra from Sunday, while Kerala return home to take on Odisha in Thiruvananthapuram.Brief scores: Jharkhand 587. Kerala (o/n 269/6) 395 in 127.5 overs (Aditya Sarwate 95; Utkarsh Singh 4/69, Manishi 4/92) & (f/o) 60/2 in 19.3 overs (Sachin Baby 37; Utkarsh Singh 1/15). Match drawn.Points: Jharkhand 3, Kerala 1.
