Samson's absence shows as Kochi Blue Tigers stare at KCL-3 exit

Defending champions Kochi Blue Tigers are staring at an early exit from the third season of the Kerala Cricket League despite being one of the tournament's most celebrated teams.

Kochi suffered their sixth defeat of the season, going down by eight wickets to Calicut Globstars. With just four points from eight matches, the Saly Samson-led team now sit at the bottom of the six-team table.

Kochi's struggles this season have been particularly stark given the batting firepower they possessed during their title-winning campaign last year. Much of that success came from Sanju Samson's explosiveness and Vinoop Manoharan's consistency.

Sanju, the league's icon and a Kochi player last season, made a defining contribution to their title-winning run, scoring 368 runs in just six matches, including a century. Vinoop Manoharan was another major contributor, scoring 414 runs and providing the consistency Kochi needed at the top of the order.

That batting flair has been missing this season. Sanju had opted out of the tournament this season citing personal reasons. 

Sachin Suresh is Kochi's leading run-scorer this time, with 204 runs from eight matches. In the bowling department, Basil Thampi has taken 10 wickets, while Karthik B Nair has claimed nine.

But Kochi have struggled to find a batsman capable of playing the role Sanju and Manoharan did last season- an anchor who can build an innings and take the team to a total strong enough to defend.

There have been occasions when U Manukrishnan and Saly Samson have stepped up, but their contributions have often come after Kochi's opening pair of Manoharan and V Shakti failed to give the team a blistering start. Manoharan has managed only 152 runs so far, falling well short of his consistent performances last year.

Though skipper Saly made efforts to revive the team with contributions with bat and ball on several occasions, it was not enough to revive a batting unit that has lacked consistency throughout the campaign.

Kochi's semifinal hopes are now hanging by a thread. Aleppey Ripples lead the six-team table with 10 points from seven matches, while Calicut Globstars and Trivandrum Royals have eight points each. Aries Kollam Sailers have seven points from eight matches.

Even if Kochi win their remaining two matches, they can reach only eight points. That means they will need not only to win both games but also hope that other results go their way.

Their next opportunity comes against table-toppers Aleppey Ripples tomorrow at 6.45pm. For the defending champions, it is effectively a must-win game if they are to keep their semifinal hopes alive.