Sreesanth plays first game after ban as Kerala cruise past Puducherry
KOCHI: Kerala had a comfortable six-wicket victory over Puducherry in their opening game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday, but this was always going to be remembered as the comeback game for S Sreesanth.
After being included in the squad by head coach Tinu Yohannan, all eyes were on whether he was going to be included in the playing eleven.
The 37-year-old did get his chance and it was after nearly eight years that he returned to the field. The speedster finished with a wicket while conceding 29 runs as he had a decent outing.
His only wicket was that of Puducherry opener Fabid Ahmed and the way the pacer dislodged the former Kerala's cricketers wicket in his second over was a throwback to the time when he took wickets for fun.
His pace has dropped but with a good line and length, Sreesanth proved that he can be an asset to this team.
After Puducherry won the toss, they chose to bat. It was the first big test for Sanju Samson as captain and his bowlers did a commendable job of restricting the opponents.
In the absence of Sandeep Warrier, there was added responsibility on Sreesanth and he spearheaded their attack alongside Asif KM and Basil Thampi.
However, it was veteran spinner Jalaj Saxena who proved to be Kerala's biggest bowling weapon as he finished with three wickets.
A late flurry from Ashith (33) down the order helped Puducherry post 138 but that was well short against a batting line-up that has the likes of Robin Uthappa and Sanju Samson.
Uthappa (21) opened the innings alongside Mohammed Azharuddeen (32) and they gave Kerala the perfect start with a 52-run stand which came in just 4.2 overs.
However, they lost the two in quick succession and it was then down to Sanju and vice-captain Sachin Baby to steady their innings.
After donning the gloves in the first innings, Sanju looked sharp with the bat and made a quick-fire 32 that took the sting out of Puducherry's bowling. His innings included three boundaries and two sixes as the Rajasthan Royals man finished as their top scorer.
In the end, they managed to coast to victory with ten balls to spare. Ashith's three wickets went in vain as Kerala picked up four points to have the perfect start to their campaign.
Brief scores: Group E: Puducherry 138/6 (Ashith 33; Jalaj 3/13) in 20 overs lost to Kerala 139/4 in 18.3 overs (Samson 32; Ashith 3/18)