Sachin Baby and Baba Aparajith put on a composed partnership to help Kerala consolidate its position of strength in its Elite Group-B match against Madhya Pradesh in Indore on Tuesday.
The duo batted for almost a session and a half to put on 144 runs in a partnership that mixed solid defence with sharp running and classy shotmaking. Their 194-ball stay leaves Kerala well-placed ahead of the final day for an outright victory.
MP began the day needing Saransh Jain and Aryan Pandey to continue the previous day’s partnership. But Eden Apple Tom dashed those hopes early by producing back-to-back wickets for the second time in the game. He began by removing Aryan, setting him up by bowling in the channel before jagging one into his pad, and followed it up by skidding one into the front leg of Mohammad Arshad Khan.
Sreehari Nair then took his maiden First-Class wicket to compound MP’s troubles. Running out of company, Saransh opted for the long handle, getting a few blows away before holing out to cede an 89-run lead to the visitor.
Rohan Kunnummal fell early again for Kerala, trapped in front by Kumar Kartikeya Singh. At that juncture, Kerala may have worried about a third-innings collapse, but those fears were allayed by a 68-run partnership between Abhishek J. Nair and Baby—back up to one-drop.
After some early edges, the pair batted calmly, keeping the scoreboard ticking and putting away bad balls without taking undue risks. Baby played some particularly aesthetic shots, the highlight being a textbook cover drive against Arshad.
However, Kerala neglected the opportunity to close the door on the host. Abhishek departed first, getting a leading edge off an innocuous delivery on the hip from Kuldeep Sen, followed by skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen, who holed out to long on against Saransh after moving up the order.
From that point on, Baby and Aparajith took control. Aided by a flattening pitch, the pair dictated proceedings, preventing MP from capitalising on its momentum. Their strokeplay gradually grew more adventurous, finding the boundary with increasing frequency as the host tired in the field.
MP thought it had Baby caught behind late in the day, but a referral indicated that the ball had bounced on the way to Himanshu Mantri’s gloves. With the pair unbroken at the crease, Kerala now goes into the final day with a 315-run lead and its fate in its own hands.
THE SCORES
Kerala – 1st innings: 281.
Madhya Pradesh – 1st innings: Harsh Gawli lbw Nidheesh 21, Yash Dubey b Abhijith 0, Himanshu Mantri lbw Nidheesh 21, Shubham Sharma lbw Eden 10, Harpreet Singh Bhatia lbw Eden 0, Rishabh Chouhan c Imran b Aparajith 21, Saransh Jain c Kunnummal b Nidheesh 67, Aryan Pandey lbw Eden 36, Mohammad Arshad Khan lbw Eden 0, Kumar Kartikeya Singh b Sreehari 7, Kuldeep Sen (not out) 0; Extras: (b-5, lb-4): 9; Total (in 77.1 overs): 192.
Fall of wickets: 1-8, 2-43, 3-60, 4-60, 5-73, 6-101, 7-160, 8-160, 9-179.
Kerala bowling: Nidheesh 23.1-2-55-3, Abhijith 9-2-12-1, Eden 16-2-55-4, Sreehari 17-3-46-1, Aparajith 9-3-12-1, Ankit 3-0-3-0.
Kerala – 2nd innings: Rohan Kunnummal lbw Kartikeya 7, Abhishek J. Nair c Chouhan b Kuldeep 30, Sachin Baby (batting) 85, Mohammed Azharuddeen c Harpreet b Saransh 2, Baba Aparajith (batting) 89; Extras (b-4, lb-5, nb-1, w-3): 13; Total (for three wkts. in 64 overs): 226.
Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-79, 3-82.
Madhya Pradesh bowling: Aryan 8-2-28-0, Kartikeya 17-3-45-1, Arshad 14-0-60-0, Saransh 13-1-42-1, Kuldeep 12-1-42-1.
Published on Nov 18, 2025