Aries Kollam Sailors continued their winning streak in the Kerala Cricket League, securing their third consecutive victory and moving to the top of the points table. The team’s slick efficiency proved too much for Alleppey Ripples, who were crushed by eight wickets.
Medium pacers N.M. Sharafuddeen and Biju Narayanan played a pivotal role in setting up the win. Sharafuddeen’s four wickets for 25 runs and Narayanan’s three for 20 runs decimated Ripples’ batting lineup. Only three Ripples batters managed to reach double figures, with skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen top-scoring with 29 runs.
Ripples, still reeling from their heavy defeat against Thrissur Titans, made three changes and tinkered with their batting order. However, the experiment to promote Vinoop Manoharan as an opener backfired as he was dismissed in the first over by Narayanan. N.P. Basil kept up the pressure, claiming two wickets in the PowerPlay, leaving Ripples struggling at 32 for three.
Sharafuddeen then removed the dangerous Akshay Chandran (16), who was beginning to find his rhythm with three well-struck boundaries. Ripples lost wickets in quick succession and were eventually bundled out for a mere 96 runs.
In response, Sailors’ in-form batter Abhishek Nair failed to deliver, but skipper Sachin Baby found his touch and anchored the chase with an unbeaten 40 runs. Basith’s blistering unbeaten 50 carried Trivandrum Royals to a five-wicket win over Calicut Globstars. Basith stepped up when Royals were on the verge of messing up the chase, having lost three quick wickets.
The Royals skipper survived a chance early on when S. Sivaraj dropped a skier at mid-on. Basith made Globstars pay for the mistake, counterattacking by clubbing Abhijith Praveen for a six and a four. In the next over, he slammed three sixes off M. Nikhil, completing the victory in style with another six off Sivaraj.
Earlier, Salman Nizar played a well-paced innings of 72 not out to enable Calicut to reach a respectable total of 144 for six.
