Dubai: After nearly one month of intense battle, the Kerala Premier League has reached the semi-final stage.

In recent matches held at the ICC Global Cricket Academy, Space CSS Alleppey Ripples and Yogi Group Thrissur breezed into the last-four stage with impressive victories.

Alleppey beat defending champions Dunes Cuisine Kannur Veerans by 69 runs, while Thrissur downed DCB Kings XI Trivandrum Royals by eight wickets.

Alleppey will now take on Thrissur in the second semi-final, while Concord Ventures Palakkad Harvesters will meet Capital CMC Kochi in the first semi-final. The winners of the semi-final will clash in the final on December 2.

The hero of Alleppey was once again the consistent Irfan Haji Akram. He cracked a breezy 86 runs off just 37 balls, studded with eight massive sixes and five boundaries, to guide his team to a mammoth 206 for 7 in 20 overs. Others who contributed in the run spree were Abdul Shakoor with 41 runs and Aneesh with 32. Kannur were bowled out for 137 runs, with Fayyaz Ahmad and Pervez Nazir bagging three wickets each.

For Thrissur it was once again the deadly pair of Shaiman Anwar and Swapnil Patil that thrashed the Trivandrum attack. Trivandrum, despite piling up an impressive 170 for 4 in 20 overs through Sasikant’s 43 runs and Abdul Rahman’s quick 42, could not stop Thrissur from winning the match in just 18.1 overs.

Anwar hit 74 off 48 balls with nine boundaries and three sixes, while Patil smashed 44 runs off 34 balls with two fours and a six.

Results:

Yogi Thrissur Dynamites bt DCB Kings Xi Trivandrum Royals by 8 wkts.

Trivandrum Royals 170 for 4 in 20 overs ( Sujit Salian 31, Sasikant 43, Abdul Rahman 42, Abdul Samad 2 for 16, Salman Farees 2 for 27) Thrissur Dynamites 171 for 2 in 18.1 overs (Shaiman Anwar Butt 74, Swapnil Patil 44). Danube Buildmart man of the match: Shaiman Butt.

Space CSS Alleppey Ripples bt Dunes Cuisine Kannur Veerans by 69 runs Alleppey Ripples 206 for 7 in 20 overs (Abdul Shakoor 41, Dilhara Lokuhetteige 22, Aneesh 32, Haji Irfan 86, Pervez Nasir 20, Abhishek 2 for 34, Arshad Ali 2 for 37) Kannur Veerans 137 in 19.1 overs (Bakhtiar Palekar 38, Zamin Jaleel 27, Nashwan Nasir 22, Fayyaz Ahmad 3 for 24, Pervez Nasir 3 for 13, Kamran 2 for 29) Danube Buildmart man of the match: Irfan Haji Akram.