Vidarbha's Karun Nair became just the third Ranji Trophy batter to achieve a unique feat, with his century against Kerala in the 2024/25 season finale on Saturday (March 1).
The 2024-25 final between Vidarbha and Kerala kicked off on February 26 in Nagpur, with Vidarbha batting first after losing the toss. Danish Malewar (153) and Karun Nair (86) helped them post 379 before Kerala looked well-placed to claim the first-innings lead at 324-6 on day three, with skipper Sachin Baby well-set on 98.
Final, Vidarbha vs Kerala
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But Baby picked out the lone man in the deep with a slog sweep to miss out on a century in his 100th first-class match, and Kerala lost the last three wickets for 18 runs to concede the lead.
Vidarbha began batting again on day four, but were in trouble early on as openers Parth Rekhade and Dhruv Shorey were sent back to the hut with just seven on the board. Once again, Malewar and Nair put on a significant partnership – 182 runs – before Malewar was dismissed for 73.
Nair completed his century in the afternoon session, his ninth of the season across formats, and fourth in the Ranji Trophy. At the end of day four, he was unbeaten on 132, helping his side to a 286-run lead heading into the final day.
Karun Nair joins India titans Vijay Hazare and Vinoo Mankad on elite list
It was his second in a Ranji Trophy final, the first being a mammoth 328 for Karnataka against Tamil Nadu in 2015, which remains the highest-ever score in a Ranji final.
Nair's centuries in Ranji Trophy finals have come for two different teams, something that only two players have ever done before. Vinoo Mankad scored 185 for Nawanagar (now Saurashtra) against Bengal in the 1936-37 final, before scoring 141 for Bombay (Mumbai) against Holkar (now Madhya Pradesh) in 1951-52.
Also read: Most wickets in a Ranji Trophy season, full list: Vidarbha spinner breaks all-time record
Vijay Hazare struck his first Ranji Trophy final century for Maharashtra against Madras (now Tamil Nadu) in 1940-41, before going on to score five centuries in finals for Baroda, including two in the same match against Holkar in 1949-50. The last of these came in 1957-58 against Services.
Nair's effort on Saturday makes him just the third player to achieve this feat, and the first to do so since Hazare, 67 years ago. He has also become the 35th player to score a century in multiple Ranji Trophy finals. His captain in this match, Akshay Wadkar, also holds that distinction – having done so in 2017-18 against Delhi and in 2023-24 against Mumbai.
Centuries in Ranji Trophy finals for multiple teams, full list
| Name | Score | Team | Opponent | Season |
Vinoo Mankad | 185 | Nawanagar | Bengal | 1936-37 |
| 141 | Bombay | Holkar | 1951-52 | |
Vijay Hazare | 137 | Maharashtra | Madras | 1940-41 |
| 288 | Baroda | Holkar | 1946-47 | |
| 115 | Baroda | Bombay | 1948-49 | |
| 130 | Baroda | Holkar | 1949-50 | |
| 101 | Baroda | Holkar | 1949-50 | |
| 203 | Baroda | Services | 1957-58 | |
Karun Nair | 328 | Karnataka | Tamil Nadu | 2014-15 |
| 132 (batting) | Vidarbha | Kerala | 2024-25 |
Most centuries in Ranji Trophy finals, full list
| Name | Team(s) | Centuries |
| Vijay Hazare | Maharashtra, Baroda | 6 |
| Gulabrai Ramchand | Mumbai | 5 |
| Mohinder Amarnath | Delhi | 5 |
| Syed Mushtaq Ali | Holkar (Madhya Pradesh) | 4 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | Mumbai | 4 |
| Kirti Azad | Delhi | 4 |
| Ajay Sharma | Delhi | 4 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | Mumbai | 4 |
| Ajit Wadekar | Mumbai | 3 |
| Bapu Nadkarni | Mumbai | 3 |
| Hanumant Singh | Rajasthan | 3 |
| Ashok Mankad | Mumbai | 3 |
| Brijesh Patel | Karnataka | 3 |
| Dinesh Karthik | Tamil Nadu | 3 |
| Wasim Jaffer | Mumbai | 3 |
Image credit: X / @BCCIdomestic
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