Rohan Kunnummal

Kerala rode on opener Rohan Kunnummal's aggressive unbeaten hundred to stun Gujarat by eight wickets in their Elite Group A Ranji Trophy game here on Sunday. The two forged a vital 143-run stand in just 135 balls for the second wicket to take Kerala closer to victory. While Kunnummal was the more aggressive one, Baby played his part to perfection.

South Zone were in a commanding position thanks to a 580-run lead over North Zone on Day 3 of their Duleep Trophy semifinals in Salem on Saturday. South Zone’s left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore (7-70) played a vital role in North Zone being bowled out for 207 in their opening essay.

Chasing a target of 449, Bengal were 77 for two at stumps in their second innings on the penultimate day and require another 372 runs for victory on Monday.

Rohan Kunnummal, Kerala's fast-blossoming batting talent, has made scoring hundreds a habit. No wonder opportunities have come thick and fast for this youngster from Koyilandy, Kozhikode.

The disparities in age criteria in junior cricket have hit a Kerala cricketer again. After Daryl S Ferrario was excluded from the India U-19 squad for the U-19 Asia Cup in December 2016, another promising player from Kerala Rohan Kunnummal has been removed from the U-19 national side before a series.

Former Saurashtra captain Sitanshu Kotak has been handed the coaching responsibilities for the India 'A' squad which is currently touring Bangladesh for two four-day 'Test' matches, beginning Tuesday. One of the batting coaches at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), Kotak will be assisted by Troy Cooley and T Dilip, the national team's fielding coach.

Rohan Kunnummal's performance in the Deodhar Trophy recently earned him a trial with Delhi Capitals, and the Kerala opener is now looking to build on that strong start to the season. Rohan scored 311 runs while representing the South Zone, averaging 62.20 runs per game, placing him third in the tournament behind Riyan Parag (354) and Mayank Agarwal (341).

Rohan Kunnummal is in the form of his life. Playing just his third Ranji Trophy game, the 23-year-old hit a record third successive ton to help Kerala register an emphatic eight-wicket win over Gujarat in their Elite Group ‘A’ tie at the SCA Stadium, Rajkot.

South Zone dug themselves into a deep hole as West Zone put the champagne on ice on the penultimate day of the Duleep Trophy final here on Saturday.

Karnataka opener Mayank Agarwal will lead South Zone in the Deodhar Trophy limited overs competition that gets underway in Puducherry on July 24. Kerala's top-order bat Rohan Kunnummal has been named Agarwal's deputy.

The selectors have named three newcomers in Kerala’s Ranji Trophy squad for the first two matches of the upcoming season. As expected, Sanju Samson has been named captain of the team while opener Rohan Kunnummal will be his deputy.

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.

Jalaj Saxena is a proven customer in domestic cricket and taking five-wicket hauls comes naturally to him. On Tuesday, he showed the value addition that he brings to this Kerala side by scalping a fifer to dismiss Chhattisgarh for a paltry 149 on Day 1 of their Ranji Trophy tie at St Xavier’s College ground at Thumba.

India’s middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari will lead the South zone team in the upcoming Duleep Trophy tournament. Karnataka’s Mayank Agarwal has been named his deputy. The 15-member squad also features two players from Hyderabad — Ravi Teja and Tanay Thyagarajan.

Left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore stole the show with a seven-wicket haul as South Zone seized the all-important lead against North Zone on the third day of the Duleep Trophy semifinal here on Saturday. Meanwhile in Coimbatore, Prithvi Shaw's blistering 142 (140 balls, 15 fours, 4 sixes) helped West Zone set Central Zone a massive target of 501 in the other semifinal.

Undoing all the great work they had done to get back into the match, Kerala's batting crumbled when it mattered the most as they lost by 70 runs against Gujarat in the Thimmappiah Memorial KSCA tournament at Mysore on Monday.

Kerala and Mumbai are on 20 points from six matches though the latter are placed on top of Group ‘A’ on better net run rate. A big win on Tuesday against Railways in their final group game should keep Kerala in the hunt for a knockout berth in the Vijay Hazare one-day tournament. Sanju Samson, who was selected in Indian ODI squad for SA, scored a breezy unbeaten 35 to steer Kerala to a six-wicket win over Pondicherry at Alur Cricket Stadium in Bengaluru.

The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) is keen to hire a new coach for the state senior team for the next domestic season. Tinu Yohannan, who was the head coach of the senior squad, is likely to make way for a new candidate if the KCA manages to find a suitable replacement in the coming weeks.