Srinagar: Youngsters Kanhaiya Wadhawan and Nasir Lone played brilliant knocks under pressure to help J&K reach 228 for 8 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal vs Kerala at the MCA Stadium Pune on Saturday.
On a day when J&K needed its guest captain Paras Dogra most, he failed again and it had to be for the youngsters like Wadhawan and Nasir to step in and rescue J&K inning. In the high pressure game like quarterfinal of prestigious Ranji Trophy, one expected Dogra who is among the most experienced players in entire Ranji Trophy tournament to perform, but the senior pro once again failed to perform for J&K.
In absence of his performance it was Kanhaiya Wadhawan, Nasir Lone, Yawer Hassan, Sahil Lotra who had to contribute and help J&K reach to 228 run score on the day 1 of the quarterfinal.
Earlier Kerala won the toss and its pacer M. D. Nidheesh made full use of the green surface to take five wicket haul.
Despite a cautious start, Shubham Khajuria, ended up offering a regulation catch to captain Sachin Baby, allowing Nidheesh to find the breakthrough.
Nidheesh tightened the noose and claimed two quick wickets of Vivrant Sharma Yawer Hassan to help Kerala gain the upper hand. It was a peach of a delivery that rattled Hassan’s off stump.
At 66/3, one expected captain Paras Dogra to steady the innings. However, his poor run with the willow continued as he perished off a Basil Thampi delivery shortly after lunch.
Kanhaiya Wadhawan (48, 80b, 5×4) and Sahil Lotra (35, 125b, 3×4) forged a 55-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Coming on the back of a gritty fifty against Baroda in the previous game, wicketkeeper-batter Wadhawan kept the scoreboard ticking. He fell just two runs short of a well-deserved fifty after being caught at covers by Rohan Kunnumal off Nidheesh.
However, Lotra paired with Lone Nasir Lone (44, 97b, 3×4) to build another 51-run partnership for the sixth wicket to ensure that the team inched closer to the 200-run mark. Both looked sorted before Aditya Sarwate broke the partnership, cleaning up Lotra and once the momentum was broken, Nidheesh struck again to claim his fifth wicket as Muzaffar was caught by captain Baby.
However, J&K tail-enders managed to hold fort for the last six overs of the day and avoided further dents.