As it happened, the fourth day of the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 final between Vidarbha and Kerala centred around Karun Nair’s century. Though Vidarbha were threatened by the early fall of their openers, Nair and Danish Malewar orchestrated their recovery that pushed them close towards the Ranji title.
Starting off the day with a lead of 37 runs, Vidarbha aimed to cement their dominance further in the game. However, the Kerala bowlers put Vidarbha on the backfoot early on in the morning session. Jalaj Saxena and MD Nidheesh dismissed Parth Rekhade and Dhruv Shorey respectively.
Just when Kerala looked to dent the Vidarbha innings with more wickets, Nair and Malewar stood up to the challenge and weathered the storm. The duo forged a 182-run stand for the third wicket. Their partnership took the wind out of the Kerala team’s sails.
Akshay Chandran showed the exit door to Malewar but he had already done considerable damage by then. After scoring 153 runs in the first innings, Malewar contributed with a 162-ball 73.
Nair took the innings forward with Yash Rathod. Their partnership could not last for long as Aditya Sarwate sent Rathod packing when he was batting on 24 runs.
Karun Nair's Masterful Century Blows Away Kerala
Nair, displaying the kind of grit that separates the wheat from the chaff, showed his worth in the Ranji Trophy final. Nair's innings was not just a run-of-the-mill hundred; it was a pressure-cooker performance. With the weight of the final on his shoulders, he stood tall, anchoring Vidarbha's second innings and extending their lead.Â
He brought up his 23rd first-class hundred, tapping the ball for a single off Jalaj Saxena in the 59th over of the innings. It is the kind of knock that can potentially decide the match and the winner of this Ranji season.
At stumps on Day 3, Vidarbha are at 249/4 in 90 overs and currently lead by 286 runs.Â
