Samson's Kochi Blue Tigers emerge champions of Kerala Cricket League T20

Kochi Blue Tigers crushed holders Kollam Sailors by 75 runs to emerge champions of the second season of Kerala Cricket League (KCL) T20 at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.

The Sailors, led by Kerala's Ranji Trophy captain Sachin Baby, had been ruthless in the semifinal, crushing Thrissur Titans by 10 wickets while chasing a paltry 87. But against the Blue Tigers, the Sailors lost eight wickets by the time they got to 86 in pursuit of a fighting total of 181/8. The Sailors were bundled out of 106.

Sachin (17), Vishnu Vinod (10) and Abhishek Nair (13), the big stars of Kollam, failed to put up a fight, while Jerin P S bagged 3/21 from his four overs, including a maiden, and skipper Saly Samson and K M Asif bagged two wickets each.

The Blue Tigers' innings comprised an explosive fifty from opener Vinoop Manoharan, who smashed 70 off just 30 balls, hitting four sixes and nine boundaries. The Kochi side lost the plot in the middle order before a late blitzkrieg from Alfi Francis John (47 not out) came to their rescue.

Earlier, Sachin won the toss and opted to field. The Blue Tigers had relied heavily on their talisman, Sanju Samson, throughout the league phase. Sanju made 368 runs from five innings, at an average of 74. The star batter left the squad shortly before the knockouts to join Team India for the Asia Cup.

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