Kerala can't seem to catch a break in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 as a defeat instantly follows a riveting win. On Saturday, just two days after causing a major upset by defeating favourites Mumbai, Sanju Samson's Kerala lost by 7 wickets to Andhra.

Today's loss was heavier than the ones dealt by Railways and Vidarbha in the earlier Group A contests in Lucknow. Not only did Andhra get over the line at the expense of just three wickets, but they also chased down a modest target of 120 runs with 48 balls to spare. Opener K S Bharat made 53 off 28 for Andhra.

More than the failure of Kerala's bowling unit to defend 119/7, it was the batting that cut a sorry figure, as barring captain Sanju and tailender M D Nidheesh, no other Kerala player scored in double digits. Opener Sanju fought a lone battle, making 73 off 56, while Nidheesh contributed 13 off 12.

After six matches, Kerala have lost three and won as many, and sit third in the points table (12 points), behind Mumbai and Andhra on 20 points each. Kerala will next play Assam on Tuesday.

Brief scores: Kerala 119/7 in 20 overs (Sanju 73, Saurabh Kumar 2/18, Satyanarayana Raju 2/24) lost to Andhra 123/3 in 12 overs (Bharat 53, Ashwin Hebbar 27)

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