Malewar, Nair put Vidarbha on top in Ranji Trophy final against Kerala

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.

- HTC & Agencies

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.

But it ended abruptly against the flow of the game, when both Nair and Malewar went for a non-existent run which ended up in the dismissal of the former, 14 runs short of a deserving century.