14 sixes, 13 fours! Vishnu Vinod's powerful 162 gives Kerala huge win over Pondicherry

Vishnu Vinod became only the second Kerala player to score 150 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in a thumping 8-wicket win over Pondicherry in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

The right-hander remained unbeaten on 162 off just 84 balls as Kerala chased down Pondicherry's total of 247 with 21 overs to spare.

Baba Aparajith was unbeaten on 63, stitching an unbroken 222-run stand for the third wicket after the early dismissals of captain Rohan S Kunnummal (8) and Sanju Samson (11).

Sanju and Rohan had scored centuries in a thrilling eight-wicket win over Jharkhand in the previous match, but the duo could not replicate the form. Sanju played on a wide delivery from Parth Vaghani, while debutant Bhupender castled Rohan.

Aparajith was dropped on the first ball he faced, but the experienced guest player from Tamil Nadu anchored at one end of the pitch while Vishnu went ballistic at the other end, hitting 14 sixes and 13 boundaries. The Punjab Kings batter consumed 32 dot balls and ran 24 singles and a double.

Sanju's 212 not out off 129 against Goa in 2019 is the best individual score by a Kerala player in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Earlier, pacer M D Nidheesh bagged four wickets as Kerala restricted Pondicherry to 247. Eden Apple Tom, and spinner Ankit Sharma claimed two wickets each, while left-arm spinner Biju Narayanan and Aparajith took a wicket apiece.

For Pondicherry, Jashwanth Shreeram (57) and opener Ajay Rohera (53) made half-centuries.

Kerala have won four of their matches in the event, including three in a row. Kerala's final group match is against Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Brief scores: Pondicherry 247 in 47.4 overs (Jashwanth Shreeram 57, Ajay Rohera 53, Aman Khan 27, MD Nidheesh 4/41, Eden Apple Tom 2/33, Ankit Sharma 2/42) lost to Kerala 252/2 in 29 overs (Vishnu Vinod 162 not out, Baba Aparajith 63 not out)