Kent need nine wickets on the final day to claim their first Rothesay County Championship win of the season.
Wicketkeeper Chris Benjamin hit 123 as Kent took control against Derbyshire at Canterbury on day three.
The 27-year-old shared a seventh-wicket stand of 184 with Joey Evison as they rescued Kent’s second innings.
Matt Milnes then struck with the final ball of the day to leave Derbyshire 19-1, still 365 runs short of their victory target.
Kent had resumed their second innings on 38-2 and lost Sam Northeast for just four when he was run out by Shoaib Bashir with a direct hit from cover off the second delivery of the day. Tawanda Muyeye called for a single and Northeast didn’t even have time to ground his bat.
It was 42-4 at the end of the first over as Ben Aitchison had Daniel Bell-Drummond leg before for four.
Then Ekansh Singh had made just five when he drove Rory Haydon to Bashir at point, who held on at the second attempt.
Muyeye and Benjamin put on 67 for the sixth wicket. The former was on 34 when he was put down by Wayne Madsen after he edged Haydon to first slip but he’d only added two more when played on to the same bowler to leave Kent 122-6.
After 10 overs were lost to rain, Benjamin and Evison transformed the mood around the ground by batting through the entire afternoon session.
It was 248-6 at tea and Benjamin reached the first century of his Kent career, and only his second first-class ton, when he glanced Matthew Montgomery for two to fine leg.
Evison – who had scored just 49 runs in his first five innings of the summer – fell 12 short of three figures when he hoicked Haydon (5-81) to Zak Chappell at deep backward point and Milnes was then lbw to Aitchison for a golden duck.
Benjamin fell four short of his career best score when he was strangled by Martin Andersson and the innings concluded on 335 when Keith Dudgeon holed out to Andersson (2-33) and was caught by Luis Reece at deep mid-wicket for 15.
That left Derbyshire with 11 overs till stumps. After taking nearly five overs to score a run, it looked like they’d bat through without loss. But Milnes got Caleb Jewell caught behind off the penultimate scheduled ball of the day. Harry Came will resume unbeaten on 16.
Derbyshire will need to make history to win as their previous highest run chase against Kent was when they made 298-8 at Derby in 2012.
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Report via ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
