Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala crashed out of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy National T20 Championships despite beating Uttar Pradesh by one run in their final Group B match here on Sunday.

UP, chasing a revised target of 78 in 11 overs after a rain interruption, were struggling at 42/4 in seven overs when bad weather put an end to the contest. Kerala won by one run via V Jayadevan (VJD) method. Opener Akshdeep Nath (30 not out) was the lone UP batsman to get going.

Jalaj Saxena's twin strikes in the last over made the difference. The off-spinner picked up 2/11 from his two overs.

Kerala finished with 16 points, courtesy four wins and two losses, in the seven-team Group B. Tamil Nadu, who topped the group with 20 points, and Rajasthan (16), who edged Vidarbha and Kerala on net run rate, advanced to the 10-team Super League.

Earlier, Kerala could manage only 119/8 in 20 overs after electing to bat. Sanju Samson top-scored with 38, while the rest of the batsmen failed to go past 20. Captain Robi Uthappa fell for two, while the in-form Sachin Baby managed just one.

Brief scores: Kerala 119/8 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 38; Moshin Khan 2/15, Sahanu Saini 2/23, Ankit Rajpoot 2/24) bt Uttar Pradesh 42/4 in 7 overs (Akshdeep Nath 30 not out; Jalaj Saxena 2/11). Kerala won by 1 run via VJD method.

Chipping in
Sanju Samson top-scored for Kerala with 38. Photo: KCA

Points: Kerala 4; UP 0.

Final positions in Group B: 1. Tamil Nadu (20 points), 2. Rajasthan (16), 3. Vidarbha (16), 4. Kerala (16), 5. UP (12), 6. Tripura (4), 7. Manipur (0).

Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan advanced to Super League.

VJD method is a system of calculating target scores in rain-truncated limited overs cricket matches, devised by Keralite civil engineer V Jayadevan.

TAGS

Google News Add as a preferred source on Google
The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Onmanorama. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.