Thrissur Titans ease past Calicut Globstars in KCL-3 opener, Nikhil stars with fifty

Thrissur Titans opened their Kerala Cricket League Season 3 campaign in style, defeating Calicut Globstars by seven wickets at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.

The victory was powered by a half-century from Nikhil Thottath, the first fifty of the season. Chasing a target of 138, Thrissur reached 139/3 in 16.5 overs, with 19 balls to spare.

Batting first, Calicut managed 137/8 in their 20 overs. Their innings got off to a disastrous start when the opener, V Nayanar, was dismissed by Anand Joseph off the second ball of the innings.

Calicut struggled to build momentum as the Thrissur bowlers kept the pressure on. Captain Rohan S Kunnumel top-scored with 30 off 20 balls, while Aravind KS made 26 and K Devan contributed 27.

In reply, Thrissur also lost wickets early, but Shoun Roger steadied the innings with a 30-run knock. Nikhil then took control of the chase, producing the first half-century of KCL-3 to guide his team towards victory.

MS Akhil provided valuable support with an unbeaten 27, staying at the crease with Nikhil as Thrissur completed the chase with 3.1 overs to spare.
For Thrissur, Anand Joseph and Biju Narayanan picked up two wickets each.