Salman Nizar's batting helped Kerala to enter the Ranji Trophy semifinal for the second time in the history of the tournament. The team sealed their berth after batting out the entire day against Jammu and Kashmir and went into the final 30 minutes with all results possible.
J&K needed four wickets on the last day to win the clash, on the other hand, Kerala needed to bat for the whole day to ensure a draw that was enough since they’d taken a one-run lead.
Mohammed Azharuddin's 67 off 118 balls and Nizar's 44 off 162 balls knocks helped the side to ensure the semifinal berth. The seventh-wicket pair batted out 42.4 overs to grind J&K’s attack to dust on the final day.
Kerala will now face Gujarat in the semifinal which will take place on February 17 and the venue for the do-or-die clash is yet to be confirmed.
"We believed in ourselves and took it (partnership) through the blocks of 10 runs each. J&K bowlers were also made our task tough. It was a similar approach we had adopted in the first innings," said Nizar during the presentation ceremony.
The left-handed batter had also made a vital unbeaten 112 in Kerala's first innings and stitched an 81-run alliance with Basil Thampi to give Kerala a crucial 1-run lead.
“We tried our best, but unfortunately we could not go all the way in this match. Credit to Kerala batters. But we are proud of the way fought till here, and hopefully, we can achieve more," said J&K skipper Paras Dogra after the match.
Brief scores: Jammu & Kashmir: 280 and 399/9 declared drew with Kerala: 281 and 295/6 in 126 overs (Salman Nizar 44 not out, Mohammed Azharuddeen 67 not out, Sachin Baby 48, Akshay Chandran 48; Sahil Lotra 2/50).