Karun Nair's ton helps Vidarbha win the Ranji Trophy 2025

Based on a first-inning lead in the final at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur, the Vidarbha cricket team defeated Kerala to win the 2025 Ranji Trophy. Day 5 saw the start of the second inning at 249-4. Vidarbha continued to bat for 54 more overs that day, increasing their total to 375-9. 

Umpires formally stopped play at lunchtime on the fifth afternoon, knowing that a draw was certain. This allowed Vidarbha to win the Ranji Trophy for the third time in the previous eight years. By winning the tournament's 2025 final at Nagpur, Vidarbha dashed Kerala's hopes of capturing Ranji.

Encouraged by a 37-run advantage at the interval, Vidarbha batted 143.5 overs in the second innings to reach 375-9 when the leaders of both teams decided to draw. Karun Nair, the senior player and former Indian star, was the top scorer for the winners, with 135 runs off 295 deliveries with 10 boundaries and two sixes. The top-order batsman, Danish Malewar, hit 73 from 162 after both openers were out early, while number nine Darshan Nalkande also scored an undefeated 51 off 98 balls.

Vidarbha's third Ranji Title

Vidarbha took the field first and scored 379 runs in 123 overs earlier in the game. To top-score the innings, Danish Malewar batted out 285 deliveries, scoring 153 of them runs. Karun Nair also scored a cautious 86 after his side fell behind 24-3 at one point during the morning round of the first day. Following that, spinners Darshan Nalkande, Harsh Dubey, and Parth Rekhade of Vidarbha each took three wickets to help Kerala collapse for 342 and gain a 37-run lead.

The result, however, is Vidarbha's only third Ranji Trophy victory and their first since they won the competition in 2018-19. On the other side, the Kerala squad was participating in their first Ranji final.