Comeback man Mohammed Azharuddeen's scintillating knock and debutant Vaisakh Chandran's brilliant opening spell helped Kerala stun Karnataka by 53 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 Tournament at the IS Bindra stadium, Mohali on Wednesday.
Batting first, Kerala posted 179 for four in 20 overs riding on Azharuddeen's blazing unbeaten 95 from 47 balls. In reply, Karnataka could only manage 126 for nine in 20 overs as off-spinner Vaisakh ran through the rival top-order with a four-wicket haul.
Kerala were given a decent start by their openers Vishnu Vinod (34, 27 balls, 3x4, 1x6) and Rohan Kunnummal (16, 15 balls, 2x4), who put on 45 for the first wicket before the latter departed just before the powerplay ended.
Rohan's dismissal brought Azharuddeen to the crease and he went berserk from the word go. Azhar hit eight fours and six sixes in his knock that saw him punishing the Karnataka bowlers all around the park. Though none of the other batters managed a decent contribution after Vishnu's dismissal, Azharuddeen took the onus on himself to give Kerala a competitive total.
In reply, Karnataka were rocked by Vaisakh's opening spell. Skipper Sachin Baby's decision to hand the new ball to the off-spinner paid dividends as he scalped Mayank Agarwal (0), Chethana LR (0) and Devdutt Padikkal (9) to reduce Karnataka to 10 for three.
He came back later to dismiss former India middle-order batsman Manish Pandey to dent Karnataka's progress. They never recovered from that horrendous start and despite a late cameo from Abhinav Manohar (46* from 27 balls), Karnataka could never threaten the Kerala target.
Vaisakh returned with highly impressive figures of 4/11 from his four overs. Kerala also used an impact player in leggie S Midhun in this game and he vindicated the team management's decision by claiming two wickets.
Brief scores: Kerala 179/4 in 20 overs (M Azharuddeen 95*, Vishnu Vinod 34, Suchith J 2/25) beat Karnataka 126/9 in 20 overs (A Manohar 46*, Vaisakh Chandran 4/11, S Midhun 2/15)
