Sandeep Warrier shines in big win for Kerala over Jharkhand

Malappuram: Pacer Sandeep Warrier returned a six-wicket haul as Kerala trounced Jharkhand by an innings and 35 runs in their Group C Ranji Trophy match with a day to spare here on Monday.

This was Kerala`s second consecutive win. They had defeated Tripura in the previous match. Resuming at their overnight score of 37 for 2 in their second innings, overnight batsman Ishank Jaggi (90) along with S S Gupta (21) stoutly defended the Kerala medium pacers initially and seemed looking good, but Warrier had the latter caught by Jagadeesh, after the third wicket pair had added 48 runs. The fifth wicket partnership between Jaggi and K O Singh (23) gave some hope for a recovery, but did not last long as wickets fell at regular intervals an eventually Jharkhand were all out for 190 in 58 overs. Jaggi, batted patiently and was unfortunate not to have scored a century, falling 10 runs short. Jaggi scored 90 runs, facing 182 balls and struck 17 well executed fours. Spinner C P Shahid, who gave ample support to warrier, by capturing 3 for 63. India medium pacer S Sreesanth, who had captured 4/28 in the first innings, went wicketless in the second innings. Brief Scores: Jharkhand: 120 and 190 (I R Jaggi 90, S S Gupta 21, K O Singh 23, S S Warrier 6/44, C P Shahid 3/63) Kerala 1st innings: 325. PTI