Karun Nair continued with his red-hot form of the season by smashing his fourth century of the ongoing Ranji Trophy as Vidarbha tightened their grip over Kerala in the final in Nagpur on Saturday.
Chasing their third Ranji title, Vidarbha reached 189/3 at tea on the penultimate day, extending their overall lead to 226.
Nair remained unbeaten on 100 (187 balls), forging a crucial 182-run third-wicket stand with Danish Malewar, who displayed grit with a 73 off 161 balls (5x4).
The duo rescued Vidarbha after they were reduced to 7/2 in the third over of the morning.
Earlier, hosts Vidarbha extended their lead to 127 runs as they reached 90 for 2 in their second innings at lunch on Day 4 against Kerala in the Ranji Trophy final in Nagpur on Saturday.
Beginning their second essay, Vidarbha, who had taken a crucial 37-run first-innings lead, lost both their openers in the first half-an-hour of the day before Danish Malewar (38 batting) and in-form Karun Nair (42 batting) steadied the ship with an 83-run unbeaten partnership.
Veteran spinner Jalaj Saxena (1/36) struck off his very first ball of the day to remove Parth Rekhade (1), providing the first breakthrough to Kerala.
Medium pacer MD Nidheesh (1/17), Kerala's leading bowler this season, then removed Dhruv Shorey (5) in the next over.
First-time finalists Kerala, who conceded a first-innings lead, desperately need wickets to have a shot at winning their maiden Ranji Trophy title.
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