Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023 | Kerala pips Saurashtra in low-scoring thriller
The Hindu
Kerala edged Saurashtra by 3 wkts in Group-A opener of Vijay Hazare Trophy. Sanju Samson (30) & Akhil Scaria (28) steadied the ship, Abdul Bazith (60) & Shreyas Gopal (21*) sealed the win. Vishvarajsinh Jadeja (98) & Jaydev Unadkat (37) led Saurashtra's recovery.
Set a target of 186, Kerala struggled for momentum as wickets fell regularly. Captain and key batter Sanju Samson (30, 47b, 6x4) was the fourth to fall, cutting a short ball from pacer Ankur Panwar to deep point.
Akhil Scaria (28, 54b, 1x4, 2x6) and Abdul Bazith (60, 76b, 9x4, 1x6) put on an 88-run fifth wicket stand to get Kerala back on track.
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The dismissals of Scaria, Bazith and Sijomon Joseph then put Shreyas Gopal in the hot seat. Gopal (21 n.o., 33b, 2x4), who moved to Kerala from Karnataka at the start of the season, kept his cool to guide his team home.
The match ended when Basil Thampi hammered spinner Parth Bhut for a massive straight six.
Earlier, Saurashtra recovered from a disastrous start to post 185.
Vishvarajsinh Jadeja (98, 121b, 5x4, 5x6) and captain Jaydev Unadkat (37, 54b, 4x4) came together with the defending champion reeling at 65 for seven.