Ludhiana: Ruturaj Gaekwad fashioned Maharashtra's thumping 40-run win over Kerala in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 tournament at Mullanpur on Tuesday.
Gaekwad smashed 114 off 68 balls to power his side to 167/4 after electing to bat. The Maharashtra skipper blasted eight fours and seven sixes. He added 84 for the opening wicket along with Pavan Shah (31).
Left-arm spinner Sijomon Joseph was the most successful Kerala bowler with figures of 3/18 from his four overs.
Kerala were never really in the hunt despite a fighting 58 by opener Rohan Kunnummal. Rohan's 44-ball knock contained seven fours and a six.
Vishnu Vinod (10), Shoun Roger (3), Mohamed Azharuddeen (5), Sachin Baby (4) and captain Sanju Samson (3) did not last long.
Left-arm spinner Satyajeet Bachhav claimed 3/11 as Keala ended up with 127/8.
This was Kerala's second successive loss after making a brilliant start to the campaign with three wins in a row. They next play Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday (11 am).
Brief scores: Maharashtra 167/4 in 20 overs (Ruturaj Gaekwad 114; Sijomon Joseph 3/18) bt Kerala 127/8 in 20 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 58; Satyajeet Bachhav 3/11, Azim Kazi 2/25).
Points: Maharashtra 4; Kerala 0.