Fazal, Afzal lift Vidharbha out of trouble

Palakkad, Nov 24 (UNI) A fine knock of 70 by opener Faiz Fazal and an unbeaten 35 by Owamir Afzal helped Vidharbha reach 191 for five in reply to Kerala's first innings total of 291 on the second day of the plate ''A'' Ranji Trophy Cricket Tournament at the Fort maidan here today.

Earlier in the day, Kerala ended their first innings before the lunch after adding 72 runs to their overnight score of 219, thanks to the brilliant bowling by left-arm medium pacer Chandasekhar Atram.

Atram, who claimed three wickets yesterday, added two more to his kitty, taking personal total to five after conceding 87 runs in 24.4 overs today.

Kerala's medium bowler Prasanth Chandran, who claimed two wickets conceding 49 runs in 13 overs, did a good job restricting Vidharba to a moderate total.

Though the visitors lost their first wicket at 44, Faiz Fazal along with Alind Nadu put Vidharbha in a comfortable position before Kerala skipper Sreekumaran Nair bowled Faiz out.

At the end of the day Owamir Afsal (35) and Samir Khare (7) were at the crease.

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