Ranji Trophy final: Vidarbha dominate Kerala on Day 4
What's the story
Vidarbha have seized the control in the Ranji Trophy final against Kerala, with a lead of 286 runs.
Karun Nair's unbeaten century and Danish Malewar's gritty half-century have put Vidarbha in a dominant position.
This was Nair's fourth First-Class century this season and his 23rd overall.
He is now spearheading Vidarbha's march toward their third Ranji Trophy title.
Vidarbha are 249/4 in their 2nd innings. Earlier, Day 3 saw Kerala get out for 342 after Vidarbha scored 379.
Career shift
Nair's journey from Karnataka to Vidarbha
Nair, who was a part of the Karnataka team, joined Vidarbha two seasons ago after being dropped by his former team.
His move has paid off for both him and his new team.
If Vidarbha win this title, it will be Nair's third Ranji Trophy win - he won his first two with Karnataka in 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
Match highlights
Nair and Malewar's partnership frustrates Kerala
Despite a shaky start to their innings, Vidarbha managed to steady their ship, courtesy a strong partnership between Nair and Malewar.
The duo added 182 runs for the third wicket, with Malewar contributing 73 runs. This comes after his impressive first-innings score of 153.
Their partnership helped Vidarbha recover from the early losses of Parth Rekhade and Dhruv Shorey in the first three overs.
Match developments
Kerala's missed opportunities and Vidarbha's resilience
Kerala had a few chances to break the partnership between Nair and Malewar, but they couldn't capitalize on them.
Malewar was given a reprieve by the DRS system after an lbw appeal was ruled not out. Later in the day, he overturned another lbw decision using DRS.
Meanwhile, Nair continued to frustrate Kerala with his skillful batting, finding gaps through the cover as they left the off side open.
Nair
Nair slams his 23rd century in First-Class cricket
Nair is now the 4th batter in Ranji Trophy 2024/25 season to surpass 800 runs (860).
This is now his 4th century in the ongoing season (50s: 2). Across 16 innings, he averages 56-plus, as per ESPNcricinfo.
He has now raced past 8,200-plus runs from 114 matches (183 innings). This was his 23rd century (50s: 36).
Earlier, he bagged 86 in Vidarbha's 1st innings.