Kerala survived an early onslaught by Maharashtra’s openers to notch up a 153-run win while defending 383 to book a quarterfinal date with Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium here on Saturday.
Om Bhosale and Kaushal Tambe gave Kerala a mighty scare with a brisk 139-run stand before the mountain of runs proved too much for last season’s finalist.
Left-hander Bhosale was the aggressor as he met the challenge of a record chase with ice-cool temperament - pulling, dabbing, flicking and whipping with a strong bottom-hand.
However, soon after Tambe was run out, Bhosale lost his shape trying to take on veteran Shreyas Gopal and fell in the following over. Kedar Jadhav’s promise of a skilful first-ball steer to the third-man boundary was short-lived as he edged behind off Basil Thampi.
Vaisakh Chandran (second from right) was one of the key bowlers for Kerala, taking three wickets for 39 runs, helping his team into the quarters. | Photo Credit: Vijay Soneji / The Hindu
Gopal and Vaisakh Chandran picked seven wickets between them, and that proved to be one of the differences between the two sides.
Earlier, Kerala’s openers played and missed, and the fielders’ chirpiness drowned the occasional sound of bat on ball. Lanky pacer Pradeep Dadhe’s outswingers on probing lengths kept the slip cordon busy.
But the conducive conditions for swing bowling also meant that the pacers overpitched, and Krishna Prasad and Rohan Kunnummal duly capitalised in the fifth over.
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The opening duo greeted first-change bowler Ramakrishna Ghosh with three fours in the sixth over as width and length were on offer. With 48 in the first PowerPlay without the loss of a wicket, Kerala had neutralised Maharashtra’s toss advantage.
Krishna and Kunnummal reached their fifties off 52 and 63 balls, respectively, and showcased menacing ease against left-arm spinners Sohan Jamale and Azim Kazi. The flat deck allowed them to step out with abandon to loft the ball inside out over covers and down the ground. By the end of 22 overs, 83 per cent of Kerala’s runs and 16 of its 17 fours had been scored on the off-side.
Kunnummal’s otherwise lazy elegance gave way to sure-footed belligerence against spin. He moved from 91 to 99 with two fours in the ‘V’ by using his feet against spin and brought up his fourth List A ton off 83 balls, outscoring his partner with seamless acceleration.
The 216-run opening alliance was cut short by Kunnummal’s tame flick to mid-on before Krishna brought up his maiden List A century, off 114 balls. He switched gears and laid into Kazi and Jamale with three sixes down the ground that would have made any Indian Premier League (IPL) scouts doing their rounds sit up.
Though he and Sanju Samson, who was undone by one that kept low, fell in consecutive overs, Vishnu Vinod and Abdul Bazith’s cameos, laced with innovative stroke-play and one-handed daredevilry, were enough to take Kerala to its highest List A total.
Bengal vs Gujarat
In the other pre-quarterfinal, at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium Ground C here, Bengal cruised to a comfortable eight-wicket win with four overs to spare against Gujarat.
Precariously positioned at 77 for two, captain Sudip Kumar Gharami (117 n.o., 132b, 9x4, 2x6) and crisis man Anustup Majumdar (102 n.o., 88b, 10x4, 1x6) rode out the spin challenge posed by India international Axar Patel to ensure Bengal didn’t face further hiccups in the tricky 287-run chase.
Earlier, it was Priyank Panchal who rescued Gujarat from 38 for two with a sublime a century. He stitched two vital partnerships, worth 94 and 46 runs, with Saurav Chauhan (53, 53b, 6x4, 2x6) and Axar, respectively, before Umang Kumar’s 47-ball 65 rearguard gave Gujarat a fighting total, which eventually wasn’t enough.
Bengal will take on Haryana in the quarterfinal here on Monday.
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