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In the absence of their captain Sanju Samson, Kerala made a mess of the run chase against Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023 quarterfinal on December 11. Chasing a target of 268, they were bundled out for 67 in just 21 overs as Rajasthan registered a massive 200-run victory to reach the semifinal.
Opener Rohan Kunnummal led the Kerala side in the knockout game. Rohan won the toss and opted to field first. Akhin Sathar was impressive with the new ball getting the wickets of openers Abhijeet Tomar and Ram Chouhan. Shreyas Gopal troubled Rajasthan skipper Deepak Hooda who was struggling to rotate the strike. Hooda was dismissed lbw after he managed to score just 13 runs from 34 balls. Karan Lamba could not make an impact either and lost his wicket to Vaisakh Chandran in the 29th over.
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From 108/4, Rajasthan needed a partnership to post a fighting total on the board. Mahipal Lomror who has been retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 auction next week shared a crucial partnership with Kunal Singh Rathore. Rathore pushed the scoring rate as well. He smashed two sixes and seven fours in his 52-ball 66. They shared a 116-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Sathar came back into the attack and broke the partnership.
Meanwhile Lomror attacked as well and reached his century. But he did not get support from the tailenders. Akhil Scaria struck once whereas Basil Thampi got rid of two batters. But Lomror remained unbeaten for 122 off 114 balls featuring six fours and as many sixes. His knock took Rajasthan to 267/8.
Kerala's run chase got off to an awful start. Arafat Khan and Aniket Choudhary got rid of the openers. While Sachin Baby tried to hold the fort, wickets kept falling from the other end. Khaleel Ahmed joined the party as well to dismiss Samson's replacement Mohammed Azharuddeen. Apart from Kunnummal and Baby, no other Kerala batter could score in double digits. Baby was the last wicket to fall. He scored 28 runs from 39 balls including one four and a couple of sixes. Khaleel wrapped up the proceedings off the last ball of the 21st over.
Kerala middle-order took a massive blow as Vishnu Vinod retired hurt after facing just one delivery. Apart from Khaleel, Arafat picked up three wickets whereas Choudhary scalped four.
Rajasthan will now face Karnataka on December 14. Mayank Agarwal-led Karnataka beat Vidarbha in the quarterfinal by seven wickets in a low-scoring encounter.
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