Helped by a fluent 62 from Riya Basheer, Trivandrum Royals defeated defending champions Kollam Sailors with an over to spare in the fourth match of the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) Season 2 at the Greenfield Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday.

Batting first, the Sailors posted 164/9, riding on half-centuries from Abhishek Nair (53 off 36) and Vathsal Govind (63 off 47). However, apart from this pair, no other batter made a significant contribution, denting their chances of a bigger total.

Abhijith Praveen’s three-wicket haul and Basil Thampi’s two wickets helped the Royals to keep the Sailors' score in check.

In reply, after losing opener Subin S for a duck, skipper Krishna Prasad and Basheer steadied the innings. Following Prasad’s dismissal, Basheer found support from Govind Pai (27) and Nikhil M (26), who kept the scoreboard ticking.

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Basheer fell when the score was 140, but Abdul Basith held his nerve, smashing an unbeaten 20 off 11 balls, including two sixes, to finish the chase on the final ball of the 19th over.

For the Sailors, Biju Narayanan and Akhil M S picked up two wickets each, but their efforts weren’t enough to prevent a Royals victory.

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