Samson's 175 off 180 balls gives Kerala a winning chance

Sanju Samson continued his good form to register his third hundred on the trot, as Kerala need another nine wickets on the final day of the play to register an outright win over Saurashtra

Thiruvananthapuram: Sanju Samson continued his good form to register his third hundred on the trot, as Kerala need another nine wickets on the final day of the play to register an outright win over Saurashtra in a Ranji Trophy Group B match, here.

At stumps on the third day of the play today, Kerala reduced Saurashtra to 30 for one after declaring their second innings at 411 for six.

Saurashtra still trail Kerala by 375 runs with nine wickets in hand and a full day's play remaining.

Opener Avi Barot (6) was the lone wicket to fall for Saurashtra. Snell Patel (15 not out) and Robin Uthappa (8) was at the crease at the close of play.

Earlier resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 69 for one, Samson hit a fluent 175 off 180 balls with the help of 16 boundaries and eight sixes, while KB Arun Karthik made 81 off 132 balls to guide Kerala to 411 for six declared in 92 overs.

Samson and Arun Karthik played fluently and stitched 214 runs off 267 balls for the fourth wickets to lay the foundation for Kerala's second innings total.

Besides the duo, Jalaj Saxena and Rohan Prem made identical 44 besides Salman Nazir scored an unbeaten 34.

Slow left-arm orthodox bowler Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (4/153) picked up four wickets while Jay Chauhan (2/126) accounted for two Kerala batsmen in the second innings.

Brief Scores of Group B matches:

Kerala: 225 & 411 for six in 92 overs (Sanju Samson 175, KB Arun Karthik 81; Dharmendrasinh Jadeja 4/153) vs Saurashtra: 232 & 30 for one in 15 overs (Snell Patel 15 not out, Robin Uthappa 8 not out; Sijomon Joseph 1/9).

At Surat, Rajasthan: 153 & 183 for four in 61 overs (Robin Bist 81, Chetan Bist 54; Siddharth Desai 2/68) vs Gujarat 1st innings: 601 for four declared in 155 overs (Parthiv Patel 173, Priyank Panchal 152, Bhargav Merai 110, Manprit Juneja 83; Mahipal Lomror 1/95).

At Rohtak, Haryana: 184 & 161 for nine in 83 overs (Rajat Paliwal 45; Ram Dayal 5/42) vs J&K 1st innings: 176 all out in 54.5 overs (Ahmed Bandy 67; Ashish Hooda 3/38, Ajit Chahal 3/64).