Alleppey Ripples win clash of the giants
Beat Yogi International by 55 runs in the match between top two domestic teams
Dubai: The clash between two of the strongest teams in the Capital Kerala Premier League (KPL) being held at the International Cricket Council Global Academy ground resulted in Consolidated Shipping Services (CSS) Alleppey Ripples beating Yogi International Thrissur Dynamites by 55 runs.
CSS and Yogi Group are two of the finest domestic teams in UAE and they purchased Alleppey and Thrissur respectively. Hence the clash between these two giants generated a lot of interest.
Speaking to Gulf News after the victory, Alleppey captain Hareesh Menon said: "We could pull off this big victory against Thrissur which is very strong purely due to our effort in all departments of the game, especially fielding."
Batting first, Alleppey scored 161 for 5 in 20 overs despite Pakistan Under-22 team pacer Mohammad Rameez bowling a tight spell to take two wickets. Asif Iqbal (46) and Shehzad Manna (32) put on 66 runs. Iqbal missed his half century by four runs after hitting one six and four boundaries from 41 balls. Alleppey also capitalised on a dropped catch of Parvez who went on to hit 48 runs in just 29 balls with four sixes and two fours.
Considering the batting strength of Thrissur, the total was gettable but they lost wickets regularly. Asif sparkled with the ball too, bagging the prize wickets of UAE national team players Vikrant Shetty, Faizan Asif and Naveed Malek to return with figures of 3 for 15. Interestingly, UAE's star left-arm spinner Shadeep Silva, who is known for his bowling, top scored for Thrissur with 24 runs as their star batsmen like Shaiman Butt and Swapnil Patil failed to rise to the challenge.
Alleppey, by winning all their three matches, are on top of this eight-team tournament with six points while Waynad, Kasargod, Trivandrum and Thrissur have picked two points each. Mallapuram and Calicut are at the bottom of the table.
Scores
CSS -Alleppey Ripples bt Yogi Group- Thrissur Dynamites by 55 runs. Alleppey 161 for 5 in 20 overs (Parvez 48 n.o., Asif Iqbal 46, Shehzad Manna 32, Mohammad Rameez 2 for 27) Thrissur 106 for 9 in 20 overs (Shadeep Silva 24, Asif Iqbal 3 for 15, Fayyaz Ahmad 2 for 15, Sajid 2 for 22). Man of the Match: Asif Iqbal.
