Vidarbha vs Kerala Ranji Trophy Final Day 5 Live Score: Karun Nair’s fourth century of the Ranji Trophy season powered Vidarbha into a commanding position on the penultimate day of the final against Kerala at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Jamtha.

The seasoned batter struck an unbeaten 132, leading Vidarbha to 249/4 at stumps in their second innings, extending their overall lead to 286 runs with six wickets in hand.

Kerala, playing in their maiden Ranji Trophy final, will need something special to keep their title hopes alive. Their bowlers started well but struggled to break the Nair-Malewar partnership, allowing Vidarbha to extend their advantage steadily throughout the day.

With the match slipping away, Kerala will hope for early wickets on the final morning to restrict Vidarbha and give themselves a fighting chance at chasing a target. However, with Nair still unbeaten and captain Akshay Wadkar (4*) alongside him, Vidarbha will look to bat Kerala out of the contest before possibly setting up a declaration.

Playing XIs

Vidarbha: Dhruv Shorey, Danish Malewar, Karun Nair, Yash Rathod, Akshay Wadkar (c & wk), Akshay Karnewar, Harsh Dubey, Parth Rekhade, Nachiket Bhute, Darshan Nalkande, Yash Thakur

Kerala: Akshay Chandran, Rohan Kunnummal, Sachin Baby (c), Jalaj Saxena, Mohammed Azharuddeen (wk), Salman Nizar, Ahammed Imran, Eden Apple Tom, Aditya Sarwate, MD Nidheesh, Nedumankuzhy Basil