Rajkot: Kerala made a perfect start to their Ranji Trophy campaign here on Thursday. First the Kerala pacers shot out Meghalaya for 148 before the openers Rohan S Kunnummal and Rahul P put on 201 in no time in their Elite Group A game.
Rohan was dismissed for 107 in the last over of the day, while Rahul was going strong on 91. The right-handed Rohan brought up his maiden first-class hundred in only his second Ranji match off just 73 balls, while southpaw Rahul was nearing his second ton. Kerala ended the day on 205/1.
All eyes were on comeback man S Sreesanth after Sachin Baby opted to bowl. However, it was debutant Edhen Adam Apple (4/41) and Manukrishnan (3/34) who caused much discomfort to the Meghalaya batters.
Sreesanth sent back a couple of tailenders while Basil Thampi chipped in with one wicket as the Meghalaya innings folded up in 40.5 overs.
Sreesanth, who made a return to the premier domestic competition after a gap of nine years, took 2/40 from 11.5 overs.
Captain Punit Bisht top-scored with 93, while opener Kishan made 26 before falling to Edhen in the 17-year-old's opening over.
Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat are the other teams in Elite Group A.
Brief scores: Meghalaya 148 in 40.5 overs (Punit Bisht 93; Edhen Adam Apple 4/41, Manukrishnan 3/34) vs Kerala 205/1 in 36 overs (Rohan S Kunnummal 107, Rahul P 91 batting).
