Alleppey Ripples secured their first victory in the Kerala Cricket League by defeating Thrissur Titans by five wickets. Mohammad Azharuddeen's swashbuckling 92 runs off 47 balls steered Ripples to a convincing victory.
Alleppey Ripples have secured their first win in the 2024 Kerala Cricket League. Ripples achieved a five-wicket victory against Thrissur Titans. Mohammad Azharuddeen's swashbuckling 92 runs off 47 balls led Ripples to a convincing victory. After losing the toss and being put to bat, Titans set a target of 161 runs for the loss of eight wickets in 20 overs. Akshay Manohar emerged as the top scorer with 57 runs. Anand Joseph claimed three wickets. In reply, Ripples chased down the target in 18.3 overs with five wickets to spare.
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A sensational innings of 92 runs for 47 balls by the skipper, Mohammed Azharuddeen as he guides his team towards victory !💥💪 pic.twitter.com/oqxWz499qc
— Kerala Cricket League (@KCL_t20)
Ripples had a shaky start while chasing the target. They lost the wickets of Krishna Prasad (1) and Akshay Shiv (3) with just 21 runs on the scoreboard. However, Azharuddeen and Vinoop Manoharan (30) forged an 84-run partnership, laying the foundation for Ripples' victory. Despite Vinoop's dismissal, Captain Azharuddeen's innings kept the scoreboard ticking.
Azharuddeen departed in the 16th over after a blistering knock that included nine sixes and three fours. Although Alfi Francis (12) fell close to victory, Akshay (18) and Neil Sunny (1) remained unbeaten and took Ripples home. Nidheesh was the pick of Titans bowlers with two wickets for 26 runs from four overs.
Earlier, Titans had a poor start. They lost the wickets of Abhishek Pratap (0), Varun Nayanar (21), and Vishnu Vinod (22) with only 33 runs on the board. Abhishek was dismissed on the very first ball of the match. With Ahmed Imran (23) struggling to hold his ground in the middle order, Titans were reduced to 62 for four in nine overs.
Arjun Venugopal (20) and Anas Naseer (12) made small contributions before departing. Meanwhile, Akshay also lost his wicket after a quickfire innings that included five sixes and one four. Vaibhav Chandran (4) was another notable dismissal. Jishnu Manikandan (5) and P Mithun (12) remained unbeaten.
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