Aparajith makes ton before Eden hits three sixes in last over as Kerala edge Rajasthan

Pacer Eden Apple Tom displayed his proficiency with the bat as Kerala won a last-over thriller by two wickets after Baba Aparajith made a century against Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

Kerala chased down a target of 344 runs, making 19 off the last over, with 20-year-old Eden hitting three sixes off Akash Singh's bowling. Eden remained unbeaten on 40 off 18 balls (1x4, 5x6). Aparajith, the in-form guest player, top-scored with a fine 126 off 116 (12x4, 4x6).

Kerala had lost their last two matches of the 50-over event against Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh after a solid 145-run win in the opener against Tripura.

Rajasthan posted 343/7 with Karan Lamba scoring an unbeaten 119 and Deepak Hooda making 86. Kerala lost captain Rohan S Kunnummal in the first ball, castled by Aniket Choudhary. But Krishna Prasad (53) and Aparajith stitched a 155-run stand.

Vishnu Vinod (28) and Mohammed Azharuddeen (28) made valuable contributions, but it was the arrival of Eden at the dismissal of Salman Nizar (18) that changed the game in Kerala's favour again.

Eden hit the first ball of the last over for a six before Ankit Sharma was run out (27). M D Nidheesh took a single to bring Eden back on strike, and the youngster hit another six and took a single. Nidheesh ran another single off the 5th ball to give Eden the responsibility of taking 2 off the final ball. He hit a six to get the job done. Kerala's next match is against Jharkhand on January 3.

Brief scores: Rajasthan 343/7 in 50 overs (Karan Lamba 119, Deepak Hooda 86, Sharafuddeen NM 3/55) lost to Kerala 348/8 in 50 overs (Baba Aparajith 126, Krishna Prasad 53, Eden Apple Tom 40 not out, Mohammed Azharuddeen 28, Vishnu Vinod 28, Ankit Sharma 27, Choudhary 4/67, Suthar 2/45)