At the Kini Sports Arena Ground here on Tuesday, Kerala lost the national one-day championship for the Vijay Hazare Trophy to Railways by an innings, despite captain Sanju Samson’s century being in vain. With Shreyas Gopal, Sanju hit a career-high 128 and combined 138 for an uninterrupted fifth wicket. In their chase of 256, Kerala was in a situation at 59/4 in the eighteenth over when Shreyas joined Sanju in the middle.
Sanju hit eight fours and six sixes in his 139-ball knock. He needed 121 balls to reach his century. This was the 28-year-old’s second century in List A cricket, following his 2019 Hazare Trophy-winning 212 not out against Goa. In his 63-ball appearance, Shreyas hit five fours. R K Choudhury bowled him out clean. It turned out to be the game’s pivotal moment.
Sanju Samson Notches Up A Scintillating Ton
Kerala required five overs to reach 59. Nevertheless, Sanju Samson was unable to carry them home due to the loss of early wickets. Rahul Sharma, a left-arm medium-pacer, defended 27 in the last over while giving up just nine. After seven games, Kerala and Mumbai both had 20 points. Mumbai, on the other hand, who defeated Kerala despite losing to Odisha by an unexpected 86 runs, guaranteed a direct quarterfinal position.
HUNDRED FOR SANJU SAMSON……!!!!
Captain leading by example, Kerala under huge pressure with 4 for 59 while chasing 256 runs in Vijay Hazare Trophy and then Sanju showed his class and smashed a brilliant hundred. 🫡🔥 pic.twitter.com/wZJQuOHlTg
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) December 5, 2023
Kerala has advanced to the pre-quarterfinals, which will take place on Saturday, December 11, in Rajkot. Earlier, Railways had risen to 255/5 thanks to Sahab Yuvraj Singh’s hundred. Sanju chose to bowl, and they lost openers Shivam Chaudhary (3) and Vivek Singh (11) for 19 in the ninth over. To save them, Yuvraj Singh and Pratham Singh put up 148 runs for the third wicket.
Yuvraj Singh made 121 off 136 balls without conceding a wicket, while Pratham fell for 61 off 77 balls. He scored six and thirteen fours. Captain Upendra Yadava contributed thirty-one.
Brief scores: Railways 255/5 in 50 overs beat Kerala 237/8 in 50 overs
Points: Railways 4; Kerala 0.
