UP continue to struggle as Kerala take 178-run lead

Lucknow: After a disastrous first day, the UP team continued to struggle on Thursday at Trivandrum's St. Xavier's KCA cricket ground, as they failed to make an impact on a pitch that supported Kerala's bowlers in the opening day of their Elite Group C Ranji Trophy encounter. Half-centuries by skipper Sachin Baby and Salman Nazir helped Kerala reach a commanding 340/7 in 110 overs, building a substantial lead of 178 runs at the close of play on Day 2. Earlier, Kerala resumed at 82/2 but soon lost Baba Aparajith (32), who added 11 runs to his overnight score before being caught by Aryan Juyal off spinner Shivam Sharma. Aditya Sarvate (14) also fell to Sharma in the 31st over. After Sarvate's dismissal, Akshay Chandran (24) partnered with skipper Sachin Baby, adding 63 runs off 142 balls for the fifth wicket before Akshay was caught by Juyal off Saurabh Kumar. Captain Sachin hit a well-crafted fifty but fell 17 runs short of a century, forming a solid partnership of 99 runs off 187 balls with Salman Nazir for the sixth wicket before being trapped in front of the wickets by Shivam Mavi at 267/6 in the 86th over. Salman Nazir then added 59 runs with Jalaj Saxena for the seventh wicket, before Jalaj (35) being caught before wickets by veteran spinner Piyush Chawla. At stumps, Salman Nazir (74*) and Mohammed Azharuddeen (11*) were at the crease.
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