Kerala 281 (Nizar 112, Saxena 67, Nabi 6-53) and 295 for 6 (Azharuddeen 67*, Nizar 44*) drew with J&K 280 (Wadhawan 48, Muzaffar 44, Nidheesh 6-75) and 399 for 9 decl (Dogra 132, Wadhawan 64).
Kerala qualified on first-innings lead
J&K needed four wickets, while Kerala simply needed to bat time to ensure a draw was enough since they’d taken a one-run lead. Nizar was unbeaten on 44 off 162 balls, Mohammed Azharuddeen 67 off 118 balls. The seventh-wicket pair batted out 42.4 overs to grind J&K’s attack to dust on the final day. Kerala are set to face Gujarat in the semi-final on February 17, while Mumbai will take on Vidarbha in the other semi-final.
As important as Nizar’s second-innings rearguard was, it was his first-innings 112 that set the game up for Kerala, taking them from the brink to giving them the lead that eventually proved massive. Nizar marshalled the lower order, putting together 81 with No. 11 Basil Thampi to help steal the lead after J&K had Kerala tottering at 200 for 9 after they’d posted 280.
Saxena’s dismissal had the potential to prove game-changing, but Nizar stood up, like he did in the must-win final league game last week against Bihar when he hit a century to swell their first-innings total.
Kerala began the final day on 100 for 2, still needing 299 for victory. But it was clear from the beginning that they weren’t after the runs. Sachin Baby and Akshay Chandran put together 58, but batted together for 43 overs in the process to frustrate J&K in their victory march.
The tide turned just before lunch as J&K’s spinners made massive inroads. Chandran was out caught at short leg by Shubham Khajuria. Soon after the break, they were fully in the ascendancy when they lost two wickets in two overs. Sahil Lotra, the offspinner, had Baby jab at one that turned and bounced, while Saxena was out looking to drive left-arm spinner Abid Mushtaq.
Having hit him through the covers off the previous delivery, he looked to repeat the shot, but was lulled in superbly by Mushtaq as he dragged his length back and had Saxena edging to first slip. When Aditya Sarwate was out looking to hoick Mushtaq over the infield, it seemed the end was nigh.
But Nizar and Azharddeen showed resilience and grit in stonewalling J&K’s attack for a better part of the last three hours to secure a draw.
J&K would look back on their first innings lapse with the ball, especially when they allowed Kerala’s last pair to get away as a turning point. Despite that, they bounced back to post 399 for 9 in the second innings, thanks largely to captain Paras Dogra’s century. The 40-year-old, in his first season as J&K captain, hit his first century after a prolonged barren run of form – he hadn’t scored a single half-century prior to this game.
Those efforts in the end were only a consolation in the end as J&K’s second entry into the knockouts in the last five years ended in a heartbreak. That they’re bowing out without having lost a single game this season will make their exit even tougher to digest.
Shashank Kishore is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo