Sachin Baby’s Century Powers Kollam Sailors to Victory in Kerala Cricket League
Sachin Baby’s remarkable century (105 n.o., 50b, 5×4, 8×6) propelled Kollam Sailors to a resounding seven-wicket victory over Kochi Blue Tigers in the Kerala Cricket League at the Greenfield Stadium.
Baby’s masterful innings, the first-ever century in the league’s history, single-handedly guided his team to victory. After reaching his half-century, Baby accelerated his scoring rate, reaching his hundred in just 16 more deliveries.
The Blue Tigers’ Manu Krishnan had a night to forget. He dropped Baby on 73 off Basil Thampi’s bowling and 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 smashed three successive maximums off the left-arm medium pacer to race to his century.
The Sailors’ victory cemented their position at the top of the table with 12 points. Earlier, Sijomon Joseph’s 50 helped the Blue Tigers post a competitive total of 158 for eight, but it proved insufficient in the face of Baby’s heroics.
In another match, Trivandrum Royals extended its winning streak with an eight-wicket victory over Thrissur Titans. The Royals’ fourth win moved them up to third in the points table, while the Titans remained in fifth place after their fifth loss.
Royals’ most expensive buy, M.S. Akhil, stole the limelight from his skipper Abdul Basith. Akhil 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 the Royals win with 13 balls to spare.