Kerala let off the hook

Karnataka let slip a wonderful advantage to bowl out Kerala for a lot less than their final total in their Ranji Trophy league match at Bangalore on Tuesday.

Winning the toss, Karnataka put Kerala in to bat. They had their opposition in all sorts of trouble at 57/5 and then 128/6, with Venkatesh Prasad blowing apart the top order with three wickets. Skipper Sunil Oasis put together 47, but it was not until Sreekumar Nair collaborated with KN Ananthapadmanabhan that Kerala looked certain to cross the 200-run mark.

Bowled out finally for 228, off 67.3 overs, Kerala lost a good chance to post a big total and put pressure on Karnataka. The home side made it through to the close of play without losing any wickets; Karnataka were 14/0 at stumps.