Malewar, Nair Put Vidarbha on Top in Ranji Trophy Final Against Kerala

Karun Nair is at that stage of his career where he'll remember the run out that denied him a hundred in the final of the Ranji Trophy.

- HTC & Agencies

NAGPUR: Karun Nair is at that stage of his career where he'll remember the run out that denied him a hundred in the final of the Ranji Trophy. He'll remember it and perhaps the national selection committee will too.

A terrible mix-up with Danish Malewar prevented Nair from notching what could have been his fourth hundred in this Ranji season but Vidarbha, nevertheless, reached a position of strength as their 215-run partnership for the fourth wicket helped them close the first day on 254/4.

Malewar is batting on 138, showing exceptional composure tempered by a fair bit of atonement for what Nair missed out on because of that mix-up.

Kerala's seamers had struck early thrice, leaving Vidarbha tottering at 24/3 but Nair and Malewar's strong fightback at the VCA Stadium gave the first-time finalists a very good idea of what they are up against. The pair consumed as many as 414 deliveries across the three sessions, mixing caution with aggression to give Vidarbha a strong footing in the summit clash.