Thiruvananthapuram: A resilient Calicut Globstars entered the final of the inaugural Kerala Cricket League with an 18-run win after Trivandrum Royals let the first semifinal slip from their clutches at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
The Royals were on course to an easy win in pursuit of a 174-run target with Riya Basheer and Govind Pai in the middle. The duo stitched a 136-run stand, the second-best partnership of KCL before a spell of madness caused them to implode.
After reaching their fifties, the two accelerated. Basheer hit consecutive sixes before Govind smashed one over extra cover to fetch 21 off Akhil Dev's 15th over, which brought the required run rate under 8.
But they failed to keep their emotions under check and threw the wickets away in four balls, both perishing playing big shots. The collapse continued with skipper Abdul Basith losing his wicket. Akhil Scaria was the pick of the Globstars bowlers, finishing with 4/18.
Earlier, captain Rohan Kunnummal scored 68 and Akhil Scaria, promoted up the order, made 55 as the Globstars posted 173/5.
Brief scores: Calicut Globstars 173/5 in 20 overs (Rohan Kunnummal 64, Akhil Scaria 55, Salman Nizar 23 not out, Vinil TS 2/23) bt Trivandrum Royals 155/7 in 20 overs (Riya Basheer 69, Govind Pai 68, Akhil Scaria 4/18, Nikhil M 2/27)
