On the prowl: Sachin Baby was at his belligerent best.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Sachin Baby’s superb century (105 n.o., 50b, 5×4, 8×6), the first ever in the Kerala Cricket League, powered Kollam Sailors to a seven-wicket win over Kochi Blue Tigers at the Greenfield Stadium here on Wednesday.
Skipper Baby single-handedly took his side to victory with a remarkable innings under pressure. Baby changed gears after completing his fifty, taking just 16 more balls to reach his hundred.
It was a night to forget for Manu Krishnan, who dropped Baby when he was on 73 off Basil Thampi’s bowling. Manu also overstepped at the bowling crease after having Rahul Sharma caught in the deep.
Baby, who faced the next ball as the batters had crossed, clobbered the Free Hit for a six and then smote three successive maximums off the left-arm medium pacer to race to his hundred. The victory cemented Sailors’ position at the top of the table with 12 points.
Earlier, Sijomon Joseph came good with the bat and his 50 helped Blue Tigers post a competitive total of 158 for eight, but it was not enough in front of Baby’s heroics.
Earlier, Trivandrum Royals extended its newfound consistency with an eight-wicket win over Thrissur Titans. The fourth victory for Royals took it to third in the points table while Titans, after suffering its fifth loss, stayed in the fifth spot.
Royals’ most expensive buy, M.S. Akhil stole the limelight from his skipper Abdul Basith as he anchored the chase with an unbeaten 54 and finished the match in style by clubbing Monu Krisha for successive sixes. Akhil’s 86-run unbeaten third-wicket stand with Govind Dev Pai saw Royals win with 13 balls to spare.
The scores: Thrissur Titans 129/6 in 20 overs (Akshay Manohar 35 n.o, Abdul Basith 2/23) lost to Trivandrum Royals 133/2 in 17.5 overs (M.S. Akhil 54 n.o., Govind Dev Pai 30 n.o.). Toss: Royals
Kochi Blue Tigers 158/8 in 20 overs (Sijomon Joseph 50, K.M. Asif 2/39, Biju Narayanan 2/19) lost to Kollam Sailors 159/3 in 18.4 overs (Sachin Baby 105 n.o). Toss: Sailors.
Published – September 11, 2024 11:06 pm IST