Goa make cautious reply to Kerala's 370

In a battle between two teams occupying the cellar in the South Zone league, Goa had made steady progress in reply to Kerala's first innings score of 370. At stumps on the second day at Cochin, the visitors were 86/2 with opener YC Barde and Satyajit Medappa manning the fort.

Resuming at 266/6, the overnight pair of S Nair and KN Ananthapadmanabhan were in no mood to relinquish their occupation of the crease in the morning. They extended their seventh wicket association to 120 before the latter was bowled by SA Khalid for 63 (131 balls, 6 fours). The bowler struck again in his next over removing wicket keeper Kamaruddin.

Nair soldiered on to 88 (249 balls, 9 fours) - his highest score in first class cricket - before becoming the persistent Khalid's third successive victim and Tinu Yohanan fell just after lunch as Kerala settled at 370. Khalid who had taken two wickets on Wednesday, finished with 5/63.

The Goa reply began on the wrong foot as skipper Kolambkar fell to the debutant medumpacer Prasanth Chandran in the fourth over. Barde and Dinesh Rao added exactly 50 for the second wicket before off spinner Ramprakash sent back the latter. Medappa and Barde then played out the final twenty overs watchfully as Goa closed at 86/2 in 51 overs.