It was left at the very end by Aries Kollam Sailors, but it all ended in a dramatic high as the defending champions started their KCL 2025 journey with a thrilling win.
Against the Calicut Globstars, the Sailors managed to prevail by just 1 wicket and pulled off a win from the jaws of defeat, courtesy of their no. 11 batter, Biju Narayanan.
Biju, primarily known for his left-arm orthodox spin, hit back-to-back sixes in the last over to take his team home. The 30-year-old ended up remaining unbeaten 17 off just 5 deliveries.
Kollam Sailors vs Calicut Globstars – As it Happened
Kollam captain Sachin Baby won the toss and elected to bowl first. Calicut got to a decent start with Suresh Sachin and captain Rohan Kunnummal, but Suresh departed for 10. After that, Akhil Scaria and M Ajinas also departed cheaply, but Kunnummal scored a brilliant 54 off just 22 balls. After Kunnummal’s wicket, the Globstars fell down like house of cards. Salman Nizar scored a decent 21 and then Manu Krishnan’s flurry kept their scoring rate, but wickets tumbled as the Calicut side got bundled out for 138 runs.
The Sailors had the worst possible start as Vishnu Vinod was knocked over in the very first delivery. Abhishek Nair and captain Sachin Baby steadied the ship, but the duo fell in their twenties, 21 off 20 and 24 off 21 respectively. Sailors were in disarray in the middle overs as they were reduced to 68 for 6 at one stage. Vathsal Govind and Amal put on a decent 32-run partnership, but Akhil Scaria kept on chipping with wickets to put them in further pressure. Scaria picked up four wickets as Kollam were 115 for 9.
With 24 needed in last two overs and a wicket in hand, the match looked safe for the Globstars. But Eden Apple Tom and Biju Narayanan had other plans. Tom hit a six in the final ball of the 19th over to get the target to 14 in the last over. Akhil Dev bowled the final over and although he just conceded 2 runs in the first three balls, the next two went out of the ground, much to the jubilation of the Kollam Sailors.
Sailors will be in action on Friday (August 22) again as they take on Trivandrum Royals. Calicut will be playing Thrissur Titans next on Saturday (August 23).