KOCHI: Kerala’s campaign in the Vijay Hazare Trophy came to an end after they lost to Services in the quarterfinal at the KL Saini Stadium in Jaipur on Wednesday. A clinical bowling performance from Services restricted Kerala to 175 in 40.4 overs before they chased down the target in 30.5 overs.
After winning the toss, Services put Kerala to bat first. Even though opener Rohan Kunnummal stood tall and kept the scoreboard ticking, wickets kept tumbling at the other end which didn’t help their cause. His opening partner, Mohammed Azharuddeen, departed cheaply after making just seven while Jalaj Saxena who was promoted up the order departed for a duck.
This left Kerala reeling at 24/2 before Rohan combined with Vinoop Manoharan to forge an 81-run partnership. After Vinoop’s departure, Kerala kept losing wickets at regular intervals. The seasoned campaigners like Sachin Baby (12), Sanju Samson (2) all departed cheaply as Kerala was bundled out cheaply. The likes of Vishnu Vinod and Sijomon Joseph, who played vital contributions lower down the order in many group matches to help them reach the knockout stage, also failed to make an impact.
Rohan was the top scorer for Kerala with a 106-ball-85. Diwesh Pathania picked up three wickets while Pulkit Narang and Abhishek got two apiece for Services. Tinu Yohannan’s side found it hard to defend the total as Services chased it down in 30.5 overs with seven wickets. The chase was led by Services opener Ravi Chauhan. After Services lost two quick wickets, Ravi combined with Rajat Paliwal to forge a 154-run partnership that took the game away from Kerala.
Saurashtra trump Vidarbha
In the other quarterfinal, Saurashtra secured a seven-wicket win over Vidarbha. After restricting Vidarbha to a paltry 150, Saurashtra cruised to victory in 29.5 overs. The Saurashtra bowlers ran through the Vidarbha batting line-up as the batters, with the exception of Aporv Wankhade (72), struggled. Saurashtra didn’t have the best of starts in the chase as they were left squandering at 35/3 before Prerak Mankad (77) and Arpit Vasavada (41) steadied their innings and steered them to a comfortable victory.
Brief scores: Kerala 175 in 40.4 ovs (Rohan S Kunnummal 85, Vinoop Manoharan 41, Pathania 3/19) lost to Services 176/3 in 30.5 ovs (Ravi Chauhan 95, Rajat Paliwal 65 n.o); Vidarbha 150 in 40.3 ovs (Apoorv Wankhede 72) lost to Saurashtra 151/3 in 29.5 ovs (P Mankad 77). Semifinals: (May 24) Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra, Himachal Pradesh vs Services