WATCH: Vidarbha batter Danish Malewar does KL Rahul’s celebration after scoring century in Ranji Trophy finals vs Kerala

Vidarbha batter Danish Malewar scored his second century in first-class cricket in the biggest game of the season. The 21-year-old got to the three-figure mark in the finals of the Ranji Trophy against Kerala, playing in front of his home crowd in Nagpur. Malewar reached his ton when he stepped down the track and hit Aditya Sarwate for a boundary. 

Malewar was on 99 when he hit the shot and the celebration had to be delayed because the umpires weren’t sure if it was four or six. Once the boundary was signalled, Malewar removed his helmet and did KL Rahul’s ‘shutting out the noise’ celebration. The 21-year-old got to his ton off just 169 balls and was hugged by senior batter Karun Nair. 

💯 for Danish Malewar 👏

Brings it up in style with a 6⃣ & a 4⃣👌

He's soaked in the pressure & produced a solid knock 💪#RanjiTrophy | @IDFCFIRSTBank | #Final

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/up5GVaflpppic.twitter.com/Wp0mp33SCO

— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) February 26, 2025

The youngster had made his debut earlier this season in the game against Andhra Pradesh and had scores of eight and 61. Matches against Uttarakhand and Himachal yielded two more fifties for Malewar. The match against Gujarat saw the young batter get his first century. 

Landmark game for two Kerala cricket stalwarts

Kerala skipper Sachin Baby and veteran all-rounder Jalaj Saxena were playing landmark games for their team. The final against Vidarbha was the 100th first-class game for Sachin Baby and the 150th match for Jalaj Saxena. Both players had played a key role in Kerala’s maiden Ranji final appearance. 

It was Sachin Baby who won the toss and chose to bowl first as the early moisture in the pitch was set to help the pacers. Both sides made one change to their team from the previous match. Young pacer Apple Eden Tom made his way into the side for Kerala while Akshay Karnewar came in for Vidarbha. 

It was M. Nidheesh who struck first when he got the wicket of Parth Rekhade for a second ball duck. Rekhade went across the line and was struck on his pads and the umpire gave it out. The batter had to walk back to the hut despite taking the DRS. Nideesh struck again when he had Darshan Nalkande caught by N Basil for 1 run. 

Dhruv Shorey was the third wicket to fall when he edged behind to Mohammad Azharuddeen for 16 runs. This was the first wicket of the day for young Apple Tom as the hosts were reduced to 24/3 in the 13th over. Karun Nair then joined his young partner as the pair batted flawlessly to make sure Vidarbha lost no further wickets. Malewar reached his fifty off 104 balls while Nair got to his fifty off 125 balls.