Hazare Trophy: Sachin Baby on song as Kerala enter quarterfinals

Rajkot: Kerala beat Uttarakhand by five wickets to enter the Vijay Hazare Trophy quarterfinals here on Tuesday.

Kerala restricted Uttarakhand to 224/9 before chasing down the target in 35.4 overs.

Their fourth win in five matches helped Kerala top Elite Group D on net run rate and directly qualify for the quarterfinals. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Maharashtra ended up with 16 points. MP pipped Maharashtra on net run rate to the second place and progressed to the pre-quarterfinals. 

MP will lock horns with UP in the pre-quarterfinals at Jaipur on December 19.

Kerala will meet Sevices for a place in the semifinals at Jaipur on December 22. 

Sachin Baby smashed an unbeaten 83 to take Kerala home. The southpaw hit seven fours and two sixes in his 71-ball knock. Sachin added 71 for the fourth wicket along with Vishnu Vinod (34). Captain Sanju Samson scored 33.

Earlier, M D Nidheesh picked up 3/25 off eight overs after Uttarakhand chose to bat.

Captain Jay Bista top-scored with 93, while D Negi made 52.

Kerala had lost to Karnataka in the quarterfinals last season. The semifinal appearance in 2012-13 is Kerala's best performance in the tournament.

Cash reward for Vishnu, Sijomon

Meanwhile, the Kerala Cricket Association has announced a cash reward for Rs one lakh each for Vishnu and Sijomon Joseph for their record unbeaten 174-run match-winning partnership for the seventh wicket against Maharashtra. The duo lifted Kerala from 120/6 to 294/6 to script a sensational win.

Brief scores: Uttarakhand 224/9 in 50 overs (Jay Bista 93, D Negi 52; M D Nidheesh 3/25, Basil Thampi 2/41) lost to Kerala 225/5 in 35.4 overs (Sachin Baby 83 not out).

Points: Kerala 4; Uttarakhand 0.