Duleep Trophy 2022: Who is South Zone's Rohan Kunnummal?
South Zone's Rohan Kunnummal on Thursday etched history as he slammed a 225-ball 143 in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against North Zone. He became the first Kerala cricketer to clock a hundred in Duleep Trophy. The opener hit a six to reach the three-figure mark. He followed with a crisp 72-ball 77 in the second innings. We decode his stats.
Kunnummal strikes twice on Duleep Trophy debut
Kunnummal, who debuted in the Duleep Trophy, bashed 16 fours and two sixes being bowled out by Navdeep Saini on 143. It was his fourth ton in FC cricket. The right-hander then bashed a hostile-looking 77, studded with nine fours and two sixes. His knock piloted South Zone to 316/4d, setting a 740-run target for North Zone.
South Zone clinch an emphatic 645-run win over North Zone
Opting to bat, South Zone compiled 630/8d, riding on centuries from Kunnummal, skipper Hanuma Vihari (134), and wicket-keeper Ricky Bhui (103*). Spinner R Sai Kishore's career-best 7/70 folded North Zone on 207/10. Kunnummal shone alongside T Ravi Teja (104*) to hoard a 740-run target. Three-fers from Kishore, Krishanppa Gowtham, and Tanay Thyagarajan made light work of North Zone's line-up for a clinical triumph (94/10).
Kunnummal averaged 139.00 in Ranji Trophy 2021-22
Kunnummal was the stand-out batter for Kerala in the Ranji Trophy 2021-22. The run machine battered 417 runs in four innings, smashing three hundreds and a fifty. Most notably, he averaged a jaw-dropping 139.00, besides striking 53 fours and eight sixes. His scores in the tournament read: 107 (vs Meghalaya), 129 and 106* (vs Gujarat), and 75 (vs Madhya Pradesh).
Kunnummal's efforts go in vain
Despite an over-the-top run from Kunnummal, Kerala (1.648) failed to conclude atop Group A as they fell short to eventual winners Madhya Pradesh (2.147) due to runs per wicket ratio.
A look at Kunnummal domestic career
Kunnummal marked his List A debut in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2016-17. He has scored 303 runs in the format, averaging 33.66. He fetched a sublime 36-ball 51* in his T20 debut against Nagaland in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2018-19. He owns 330 runs in T20s at 36.66 (SR: 111.86, 50s; 3). Meanwhile, he has 645 runs across five FC matches (100s: 4, 50s: 2).
Duleep Trophy final: South Zone to face West Zone
South Zone will have to trump a fully stacked West Zone in order to bag the honors. The Ajinkya Rahane-led West Zone routed Central Zone by 279 runs to advance further. Opener Prithvi Shaw emerged as the star performer, with scores of 60 and 142. The four-day finale will commence on September 21 at SNR College Cricket Ground, Coimbatore.
