Former RCB Batter Smashes Hundred In Ranji Semis To Put Kerala On Verge Of History

Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Mohammed Azharuddeen, who was bought at the IPL 2021 auction but played no games for the franchise, has put Kerala on the verge of history by smashing a sublime ton in the Ranji Trophy semi-final against Gujarat in Ahmedabad. 

Kerala are vying to reach the Ranji Final for the first time in their history and Azharuddeen picked the perfect time to post his second first-class century to put the Sachin Baby-led side in pole position in the semi-final clash.

After winning the toss and batting first, four of Kerala’s top five batters got a start but none of them made it count and turned it into a big score. Thus the contest was right in the balance at 157/4 when Azharuddeen walked out to bat.

From this point onwards, the right-hander played the best knock of his career, yet, to grind out the Gujarat bowlers and get to his ton off 175 balls. Azharuddeen’s last ton in red-ball cricket came back in December 2018 against Punjab.

After being dropped from Kerala’s red-ball side post 2020, Azharuddeen has been in stellar form in the longest format since the start of last year. Before this semi-final, Azharuddeen had scored 630 runs at an average of 52.5 across his last 15 innings in red-ball cricket. 

He was snapped up for his base price of INR 20 lakh at the IPL 2021 auction following his whirlwind 137* off 54 against Mumbai in 2021 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Cover Photo Credit: Akhilesh Kumar/The Hindu