Runs flow delightfully in Rohan’s dream run

Rates his third ton best of the lot

P.K. Ajith Kumar

RAJKOT

Rohan Kunnummal was gutted. He had just dropped Umang Kumar at slip when Kerala was desperately looking for a breakthrough on the final morning of the Ranji Trophy match against Gujarat at the Saurashtra Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The debutant batter went on to score another 36 runs and his partnership with Karan Patel yielded another 62.

Rohan, however, got an opportunity to make amends. And he did – in stunning fashion.

His brilliant unbeaten 106 not off just 87 balls took Kerala to one of its finest ever wins, as it chased down a target of 214 scoring at six-an-over. And yes, he had also become the first from the State to score three hundreds in consecutive innings in First Class cricket.

The day after, the 23-year-old admits life seems like a dream for him at the moment. “It is a great feeling, yes,” he tells The Hindu. “It is nice that I could score three hundreds in a row, but what made me really happy was that I could help my team win.” He confesses he was feeling terrible after dropping Umang. “After that I just hoped that I would be able to win the match for my team,” he says.

This was only Rohan’s third Ranji match, after making his debut in the 2019-20 season. “I was injured in that match and then Covid happened,” he says. “But I was hopeful that I could be picked for the Ranji Trophy as I had done well in both the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournaments.”