NEW DELHI: Once again, captain Sanju Samson led the way with an innings in which Kerala defeated the mighty Madhya Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy pre-quarters. Kerala chased down Indian Premier League (IPL) superstars Avesh Khan and Venkatesh Iyer by eight wickets. After losing the toss and opting to bat, Madhya Pradesh scored 171 for five in the allotted 20 overs. Kerala reached the target with 12 balls and eight wickets remaining.
With the win, Kerala advanced to the quarterfinals with 12 points from five games in Group D. Gujarat leads with 16 points. They went straight into the quarters. Though Madhya Pradesh also has 12 points, they lost to Kerala in a head-to-head match and finished third. Kerala will take on Himachal Pradesh in the pre-quarterfinals on November 16 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
Sanju and Souchin put on a century for the third wicket to give Kerala the lead. Both batsmen scored 110 off just 63 balls. Both scored half-centuries. Saunju was unbeaten on 56 off 33 balls. Sounju’s innings included four fours and three sixes. Sachin Baby hit 51 off 27 balls with four fours and a six.
Earlier, Rohan S Kunnummal and Mohammad Azharuddin put on a fine start to their half-century partnership for the opening wicket. Rohan hit 29 off 27 balls with three fours and a six. Azharuddin scored 21 off 22 balls with two fours.
The duo added 58 off just 47 balls for the opening wicket. After that, the duo were out for just four runs, but Sanju and Sachin put on a century for the third wicket to lead Kerala to victory. Kumar Karthikeyan Singh and Mihir Hirwani shared the two wickets for Madhya Pradesh.
Earlier, Rajat Patidar, who scored a half-century, was the top scorer for Madhya Pradesh. Rajat hit 49 off 49 balls with seven fours and three sixes. Kuldeep Gehi (31 off 21 balls) and skipper Parth Sahani (32 off 25 balls) were the other notable contributors.
Venkatesh Iyer, the rising star of the IPL, was out for a run. Saransh Jain (11 off 13 balls), Rakesh
Thakur (13 not out off 10 balls) was the other batsman to make the cut. MS for Kerala Akhil took two wickets for 35 runs in four overs. The. Mithun took one wicket for 21 runs in four overs. Manu Krishnan and Jalaj Saxena also took wickets each.
English Summary: Madhya Pradesh vs Kerala, Round 5, Elite Group D – Live Cricket Score,
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