Ranji Trophy: Rohan Kunnummal ton helps Kerala hit back in style

A second successive century from Rohan Kunnummal in Ranji Trophy has helped Kerala set up an intriguing battle against Gujarat in their Elite Group ‘A’ encounter at SCA Stadium, Rajkot on Friday.
At stumps on Day 2, Kerala were 277 for four in reply to Gujarat’s first innings total of 388.
The morning session on Saturday will be crucial for both teams and should determine the course of this game.
But Friday was all about Rohan. The 23-year-old was unfazed by the score Gujarat put up in the first innings as he went about his business in brisk fashion. Along with P Rahul, Rohan put on 85 for the first wicket in just 14 overs. The two openers went after Gujarat pacers and matched each other stroke for stroke.
But left-arm spinner Siddharth Desai put a check on Kerala’s progress by inflicting a double blow. He first had Rahul (45) before dismissing the experienced Jalaj Saxena (4) in his next over.
Skipper Sachin Baby joined Rahul at the crease the two forged together a century-stand for the third wicket. Though Kerala’s brisk run-rate dipped, they still managed to score at a fair clip as Rohan and Sachin punished anything that was loose. While Rohan completed his century, Sachin went on to score his second consecutive fifty. However, just like in the previous game, Baby (53) fell soon after his fifty as left-arm seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla castled him with a delivery that came in sharply.
Rohan undid all his hard work by playing a rash shot to bring about his downfall as he was caught at deep point by substitute MA Hingrajia of the bowling off Roosh Kalaria. Rohan made 129 (171b, 16x4, 4x6).
At close, Vathsal Govind (14*) and Vishnu Vinod (21*) were at the crease.
Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 334/6, Gujarat added 54 more runs before getting bowled out with centurion Het Patel scoring the majority of those runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman was the last man out for a brilliant 185 (245b, 29x4, 2x6).
MD Nidheesh, the most impressive of the Kerala pacers, had Chintan Gaja caught behind to complete a five-wicket haul (5/54). Basil Thampi, who was pretty expensive on the opening day, made amends on Day 2 by scalping three of the wickets to fall to finish with figures of 4/118.
Brief scores: Gujarat 388 all out (Het Patel 185, Karan Patel 120; Nidheesh MD 5/54, Basil Thampi 4/118) vs Kerala 277/4 (Rohan Kunnummal 129, Sachin Baby 53; Siddharth Desai 2/86, Roosh Kalaria 1/42)