New Delhi: Kerala batter Vishnu Vinod showcased exceptional form by dominating the Puducherry bowling attack in their Vijay Hazare Trophy match at the Narendra Modi Stadium A Ground in Ahmedabad on January 6. Vinod registered an outstanding unbeaten score of 162 runs off 84 balls, leading Kerala to successfully chase down a target of 248 runs against the team captained by Aman Khan.
Vinod displayed remarkable hitting prowess, smashing 13 fours and an impressive 14 sixes in his innings. He achieved his century in just 63 balls and maintained a high scoring rate as he continued to attack the bowlers. Notably, he reached his 150 in a mere 81 balls, making it the third fastest 150 recorded by an Indian batter in List A cricket, trailing only Vaibhav Suryavanshi (59 balls) and Dinesh Karthik (80 balls).
In addition to his explosive batting, Vinod reached a significant milestone during this innings by hitting 14 sixes, thus becoming the third player in the history of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to accumulate 100 sixes in the tournament. He joins the ranks of Manish Pandey and Ruturaj Gaikwad, surpassing Gaikwad’s record.
The leaderboard for the most sixes in the Vijay Hazare Trophy now stands as follows:
- Manish Pandey: 108 sixes in 99 innings
- Vishnu Vinod: 106 sixes in 53 innings
- Ruturaj Gaikwad: 105 sixes in 55 innings
- Yusuf Pathan: 91 sixes in 56 innings
- Ishan Kishan: 85 sixes in 50 innings
In the match context, Kerala chased down the total in a mere 29 overs, leaving 186 balls remaining. Despite losing openers Sanju Samson and captain Rohan Kunnummal within the first five overs, Vinod formed a formidable partnership with Baba Aparajith, contributing to an unbroken 222-run stand for the third wicket.
