Yuzi Chahal puts Leicestershire in a spin on Day 1 of their County Championship game for Northamptonshire.
Yuzi Chahal and Rob Keogh once again teamed to split seven wickets and give Northamptonshire the advantage against Leicestershire on the first day of their Vitality County Championship match.
At Wantage Road, the duo—Chahal collecting 4 for 82 and Keogh taking 3 for 20—victoriously bowled Northamptonshire to their maiden Division Two success last week, dismissing the visitors for 203. Leicestershire won the toss and elected to bat, but they found it difficult to deal with the home spinners. Opener Sol Budinger’s 56 was their only noteworthy score.
James Sales was unbeaten at 34 as Northamptonshire reached stumps at 134 for 3, with to two wickets taken by paceman Scott Currie. After setting a stunning century during Leicestershire’s Vitality Blast match against Northampton earlier in the summer, Rishi Patel was caught ducking this time by Saif Zaib’s low catch at point.
Ian Holland appeared more nervous at the crease while Budinger, who hasn’t played for the Foxes since late June, repeatedly cracked Ben Sanderson for off-side boundaries during their four-day lineup. After batting for nearly an hour and a half, Holland was bowled off by Chahal’s third ball while attempting an audacious reverse paddle. The Indian leg-spinner was unfortunate not to get more reward before lunch.
At regular intervals, Northamptonshire took wickets; Budinger, who had scored his first half-century of the season, was leg before Jack White and Louis Kimber, who pushed Sanderson back. In his rapid thirty overs, Rehan hit two sixes off the top of Chahal, but when he attempted it a third time, Ben Cox swung but missed, giving the spinner another wicket.
Gus Miller batted steadily, getting rid of a devastating yorker from Currie before he started to play with more freedom and appeared to be headed for his first half-century when he knocked several deliveries from Tom Scriven to the rope.
Nevertheless, those aspirations were shattered when Miller was declared leg before wicket by Scriven for 37, even though it looked like he was getting a thick edge onto his pads. Sales and Keogh were then left to lead their side to victory at the end.