Uttar Pradesh showcased its myriad strengths to shut out Kerala from the contest on the third day of the Ranji Trophy cricket match at the SD College ground here on Sunday.
The near-perfect day for visitors was orchestrated by Ankit Rajpoot’s fiery opening spell in the morning which brought a swift end to Kerala innings and gave Uttar Pradesh the lead of 59 runs. Skipper Aryan Juyal’s well paced century (115 batting) and his 130-run unbroken second wicket stand with Priyam Garg (49 batting) saw Uttar Pradesh end the day at 219 for one and with an overall lead of 278.
The Kerala bowling was unthreatening on a pitch which had shed off the spitefulness it displayed in the opening hour. The openers Samarth Singh and Juyal played without any alarms to add 89 runs for the first wicket. Jalaj Saxena gave Kerala a brief lift by trapping Samarth (43) in front.
