Kent survive final day to draw record-breaking match against Northamptonshire

CANTERBURY: The County Championship clash between Kent and Northamptonshire at Canterbury ended in a thrilling draw on Thursday, with Kent narrowly avoiding defeat in a tense final session on the last day of play.

Set a target of simply surviving a minimum of 59 overs after Northamptonshire declared their first innings on a mammoth 722/6, the highest total ever recorded at the ground.

Kent battled to 160/8, just managing to deny the visitors a record-breaking and improbable victory.

Northamptonshire’s imposing total was anchored by a brilliant unbroken partnership of 298 runs between Saif Zaib and Justin Broad. 

Zaib remained unbeaten on 196, while Broad contributed an equally impressive 157 not out. Their stand shattered the previous ground record of 676 set by Australia in 1921.

Resuming the final day with Zaib on 150 and Broad on 107, Northamptonshire were only able to add briefly to their overnight score as heavy morning rain allowed just 12 minutes of play. 

Once the weather cleared, both batters accelerated the scoring, looking to pile pressure on Kent before the declaration. Zaib edged closer to a double-century, Broad reached 150, and with the score at 722/6.

Kent’s second innings got off to a poor start and the evening session quickly descended into chaos for the hosts. Despite only needing to survive the remaining overs, Kent crumbled under pressure and were restricted to just 160/8 on the final day, narrowly managing to escape with a draw.

Joey Evison, who remained unbeaten on 49 off 104 balls, played a crucial role in saving the match for Kent.

Yuzvendra Chahal led Northamptonshire’s late charge with the ball, finishing with impressive figures of 4/51 in the second innings.