Kent take control against Nottinghamshire with impressive spin bowling display in County Championship
Kent Spinners Aron Nijjar and Yuzvendra Chahal Leave Nottinghamshire Reeling
In a thrilling County Championship match at Canterbury, Kent spinners Aron Nijjar and Yuzvendra Chahal wreaked havoc on the Nottinghamshire middle order. The visitors found themselves struggling at 219-8, facing a deficit of 227.
Nottinghamshire initially had a promising start to the day, taking six wickets for just 59 runs to bowl out Kent for 446 before lunch. Lyndon James stood out with impressive figures of 2-30.
When play resumed, Kent’s hopes rested on their overnight score of 387-4. However, Harry Finch fell early in the morning session while attempting a delicate glance behind off Dane Paterson’s delivery.
Paterson struck again soon after as Jack Leaning clipped him straight into Steven Mullaney’s hands at mid-off. Joey Evison followed suit shortly after when caught behind trying to execute an aggressive hook shot off James’ bowling.
Aron Nijjar survived an early scare when he edged one from James but was dropped by Tom Moores. Nonetheless, Nathan Gilchrist swiftly made amends by catching Gilchrist off Brett Hutton’s following delivery.
Nijjar’s innings came to an end in unfortunate fashion as he attempted a hook shot against Hutton but ended up being caught on the boundary by sub-fielder Sam King. The innings concluded two balls later when Chahal edged Hutton behind.
As Kent lost their last four wickets for a mere four runs, Nottinghamshire’s hopes were boosted. However, they too faced an early setback as Ben Slater departed without scoring, caught by Jack Leaning off Michael Hogan’s delivery.
Hogan struck again soon after lunch, dismissing Haseeb Hameed for just nine runs. But Mullaney and Clarke embarked on an impressive partnership worth 131 runs to help Notts recover from the shaky start.
The spin of Yuzvendra Chahal posed some challenge during his first spell but the batsmen managed to negotiate him relatively comfortably, with a few exceptions such as the difficult caught and bowled chance offered by Mullaney.
Mullaney reached his fifty with a boundary off Evison while Clarke accomplished the same milestone with a single off Gilchrist. However, it was Nijjar who finally made a breakthrough by dismissing Clarke in the final ball before tea, leaving Nottinghamshire at 160-3.
This crucial wicket sparked a dramatic shift in momentum. Nottinghamshire lost four more wickets for just 14 runs and went nearly ten overs without hitting a boundary.
Mullaney attempted to take charge against Nijjar but ended up being caught brilliantly by Daniel Bell-Drummond at backward point. Nijjar then deceived Moores with sharp turn to dismiss him for a duck while Chahal claimed his first victim of the game by bowling James through his defenses.
Nottinghamshire’s downfall continued as Matt Montgomery handed Chahal another catch, this time taken comfortably by Leaning at mid-off. Calvin Harrison also fell prey to Chahal’s cunning tactics and became Leaning’s fourth catch of the innings while attempting an aggressive shot.
Dane Paterson and Brett Hutton managed to survive a tricky seven-over spell before stumps, but it was Kent who ended the day in high spirits. The match hangs in the balance as both teams chase victory.