Vijay Hazare Trophy: Rajasthan thrash Kerala to reach semi-finals
Rajasthan thrashed Kerala to reach the semi-final of the 2023/24 Vijay Hazare Trophy on December 11. The Deepak Hooda-led side successfully defended 267, restricting Kerala to 67/9. Aniket Choudhary took four wickets, while Vishnu Vinod was retired hurt. Earlier, a valiant century from Mahipal Lomror saved Rajasthan from a batting collapse. Kunal Singh Rathore slammed a 52-ball 66. Here are the key stats.
Lomror's knock bolsters Rajasthan
Lomror came to the middle after Rajasthan lost opener Abhijeet Tomar with 42 runs on the board. The left-handed batter firmly held his end despite losing partners. Lomror and Kunal helped Rajasthan recover from 108/4 and took them past 200. Rajasthan finished with 267/8, with Lomror ending up scoring 122* off 114 balls (6 fours and 6 sixes).
Second List A ton for Lomror
Lomror smashed his second century in List A cricket. As mentioned, he has notched up his career-best score in the format. The Rajasthan batter made his List A debut during the 2016/17 Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has now raced past 1,900 runs from 53 matches in the format. The tally includes 19 fifty-plus scores (two tons).
A crucial 66 from Kunal
Kunal hammered a crucial 66 off 52 balls, a knock laced with 7 fours and 2 sixes. He smashed his second fifty in List A cricket. During the knock, he also crossed the 300-run mark in the format.
A look at the match's summary
Rajasthan had a shaky start after they were invited to bat. Both Abhijeet Tomar and Mohit Chouhan got starts but failed to capitalize. While others departed, Lomror and Kunal took Rajasthan past 200. Akhin Sathar took three wickets for Kerala. Kerala perished for 67 in no time, with Sachin Baby smashing 28. Aniket scalped four wickets, while Arafat Khan and Khaleel Ahmed shared five.
Aniket picked up a four-fer
Left-arm pacer Aniket was the pick of Rajasthan's bowlers in the match. He took four wickets for 26 runs in seven overs, including a maiden (ER: 3.71). Kerala skipper Rohan Kunnummal, Shreyas Gopal, Abdul Basith, and Basil Thampi were Aniket's four victims. Thampi's dismissal reduced Kerala to 49/8 in just 16 overs while chasing.
