Akshay Chandran

A brilliant century from comeback man Akshay Chandran put Kerala in a position of strength on Day 2 of their Ranji Trophy encounter against Jharkhand at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi on Wednesday.

Sreesanth is finally set to return to active cricket after completing his ban, as the fast bowler has been included in the 26-man squad of probables for the Kerala senior state team ahead of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The T20 tourney is scheduled to begin on January 10.

Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) XI began their preparations for a long winding domestic season on a bright note with a resounding four-wicket win over Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) XI in the Dr (Capt) Thimmappiah Memorial Tournament at Alur in Karnataka on Saturday.

Jammu and Kashmir set a challenging target of 399 for Kerala in their Ranji Trophy quarterfinal. Skipper Paras Dogra scored a century, while Kerala ended the day at 100 for 2. Yudhvir Singh claimed two early wickets. With Akshay Chandran and captain Sachin Baby unbeaten, Kerala need 299 runs on the final day to win.

A consistent pattern in Kerala's Ranji Trophy campaign unfolded at the St Xavier's College ground in Thumba on Friday when the hosts chose to bat first against Bengal in their Group B match.

Andhra cricket team, despite having a large lead, may have been able to force a draw in their final Ranji Trophy match against Kerala. Despite hitting centuries, Andhra were 19 for one at stumps, trailing by 223 runs. Kerala's Seamer Basil NP trapped Andhra opener K Revanth Reddy, allowing them to bowl seven overs in their second innings on Day 3.

The Kerala squad for the first two matches of the Ranji Trophy season has been announced. Sachin Baby will lead the 15-member contingent. Experienced batsman VA Jagadeesh and allrounder Vinoop Manoharan have returned to the squad.

The 2017-18 Ranji Trophy season was a historic one for Kerala. They made the quarterfinals of India's premier domestic first-class competition for the first time.

Powered by Sachin Baby’s knock, Kerala were 258 for three at stumps on Day and only trail Andhra by 13 runs. The knock has also helped Baby (804 runs from 7* games) climb to second spot in top run-getters list this season in Ranji Trophy and he now trails Ricky Bhui (860 runs from 7* games) by just 56 runs.

Cricketer Sachin Baby may not be in the same league as Novak Djokovic, Rohan Boppana, Sunil Chhettri and PR Sreejesh who proved that age is just a number, but the 35-year-old’s appetite for runs has surely increased with age. The second-highest scorer at the end of group stage in Ranji Trophy this season (830 runs from 7 matches) behind Ricky Bhui of Andhra, Baby has firmly established himself as the mainstay of Kerala’s batting.

Kerala's resilient batting effort led by Salman Nizar and Mohammed Azharuddeen helped them secure a draw against Jammu and Kashmir, progressing to the Ranji Trophy semifinals thanks to a 1-run first innings lead. Key partnerships, including Nizar's unbeaten 112 in the first innings, were pivotal in setting up a semi-final clash with Gujarat.

It would be hard to pick a team in the domestic circuit who have shown the uncanny knack of making a meal out of seemingly winnable positions time and again other than Kerala.

Tamil Nadu gained the upper hand on Friday, reducing Kerala to 151 for 9 after making 268 in the first innings on the second day of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match.

Undoing all the great work they had done to get back into the match, Kerala's batting crumbled when it mattered the most as they lost by 70 runs against Gujarat in the Thimmappiah Memorial KSCA tournament at Mysore on Monday.

Dav Whatmore calls him KFC. His teammates have caught on to the joke and presented him with a KFC chicken piece after the end of the match on Saturday morning. Akshay KC would never have thought his initials would merit such humour.

Kerala Cricket Association on Thursday announced a 15-member under-19 squad for a tour to Sri Lanka.

Sanju Samson will return as captain of Kerala in the longer format as he will lead the team that has been picked to play the first two matches of Ranji Trophy this season.