Kerala face Bengal's pace attack in Ranji Trophy Elite Group C clash
Kerala must counter Bengal's pace attack after securing an innings win against Odisha in their previous Ranji Trophy match.
Kerala take on Bengal in Elite Group C at the KCA ground in Mangalapuram on Monday. They arrive after an innings win over Odisha, where Sachin Baby and Mohammed Azharuddeen both scored centuries in a total past 400.
Their spin trio of Jalaj Saxena, Aditya Sarwate and Vaisakh Chandran worked well on the surface at Greenfield Stadium. The KCA ground offers early help to pacers and tends to favour batters before it wears on days four and five.
Bengal's top order, led by Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Gharami and Abhishek Porel, has been in form this season. Their pace attack, led by Mohammed Kaif and Mohammed Shami if fit, targets Kerala's long-standing weakness against quality seam bowling.
CricHubb Take
Kerala's spin attack is built for the later days, so the real question is whether their top order can stay intact through the first two sessions when the ball is new and the KCA surface is at its quickest.