Ranji Trophy 2016-17, Round 9 Day 4 report and highlights: Sachin Baby slams 250 for Kerala vs Services in a drawn contest

The Kerala versus Services Ranji Trophy 2016-17 round 9 encounter from Group C ended in a draw on the fourth and final day at the Karnail Singh Stadium in New Delhi. Kerala gained three points from this encounter while Services just had a solitary one. Sachin Baby’s unbeaten 250-run knock steered Kerala in a commanding position and helped them take a massive 196-run lead in the first innings. Earlier, Kerala won the toss and elected to field; Services did well to put 322 runs on the board riding on Anshul Gupta’s century. Atif Bin Ashraf bagged four wickets and helped his side bowl out Services for 322. Both teams failed to make it to the next round.

Services started off poorly as they were languishing at 43 for the loss of four wickets. Gupta weathered the early storm and played a much-needed innings at the top. Rahul Singh ensured that his team edge-past the 300-runs mark. Their lower-order contributed 95 runs and did a commendable job after the top-order failed. Ashraf was the pick of the bowlers whereas Sandeep Warrier and Akshay Chandran had two wickets apiece. After a rocky start with the bat, Kerala middle-order did well to gain a massive lead and put pressure on the opposition.

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Full Updates: Ranji Trophy 2016-17 Round 9, Day 4

Baby played magnificently for his 250 while Jalaj Saxena chipped in with a crucial 84. Akshay Chandran stitched a key partnership of 257 runs and also scored a crucial century. Kerala now have 22 points in their basket and are sitting at the fifth position in the points table while Services are seventh with 15 points.

Brief scores:

Services 322 (Anshul Gupta 105, Rahul Gupta 71; Athif Bin Ashraf 4 for 60) drew with Kerala 518 for 5 decl. (Sachin Baby 250*, Akshay Chandran 102; Irfan Khan 3 for 118) by 196 runs.