A becalmed and dutiful accumulation by Mumbai batters on a pitch which is fast turning to be a spinner’s ally left Kerala with a daunting task of chasing 327 for a win in the Ranji Trophy match at the St.Xavier’s college ground here on Sunday.
The makeshift opening pair of Jalaj Saxena (12 batting) and Rohan Kunnummal (12 batting) had answers during the short passage of play in the final session. But the final examination on Kerala’s batting abilities will be on Monday and on a pitch where eight second innings wickets fell to spinners.
Jalaj completed a personal milestone by taking 100 wickets at the venue, and it rubbed on to his batting as he crossed double figures for the first time in this series. At stumps, Kerala was 24 for no loss and still has a mountain to climb.