Kollam, Thrissur score KPL wins on Thursday

New KPL entrant Phoenix Medicine-Kollam Kernels opened their KPL Dubai campaign with an emphatic six-wicket victory over Thumbay Kasargod Leopards at the ICC Global Cricket Academy ground in Dubai on Thursday night.

Seasoned performers Thrissur Dynamites Yogi Group also clinched their first win by defeating new squad Globelink Weststar Shipping Pathanamthitta Rajas by 11 runs.

The Twenty20 tournament is being held under the auspices of Dubai Cricket Council.

Kollam bowlers did a terrific job by restricting Kasargod, who batted first, to 105 in 20 overs. Justin picked up three for 20, while Rohan bagged two for 20.

Apart from Amjad and Naeem, the Kasargod batsmen failed to give a good start to the team, who had some impressive wins in the first season.

Amjad made 26 off 28 deliveries with the help of two fours and one six. Naeem hit a four in his 33-ball 27, while last batsman Ali Afzal's nine-ball 10 not out helped them cross the 100-run hurdle.

However, Kasargod bowlers fought well despite not having a decent score on board. Though opener Qasim smashed an attacking 31 off 24 balls, including three fours and one six, Kasargod hit back in style by sending back Zeeshan (10), Adil (0) and Hafiz (2) quickly.

But an unbroken partnership between Saqlin, who was later adjudged as man of the match, and Rohan steadied the innings and led Kollam to a convincing win with 11 balls to spare.

Saqlin was at his attacking best, smashing five fours in his 30-ball 41.

Ali Afzal bagged two wickets, while Naeem and Maqsood picked up one each.
 
In the other match on Thursday, Thrissur began their campaign in style over the new KPL team Pathanamthitta.

Yogi Group, who batted first got off to an excellent start, thanks to an aggressive half-century from opener Salman. He smashed eight fours in his 41-ball 54, while his partner Shaiman fell for nine.

Though Thrissur lost some quick wickets soon, Shahzad gave Salman good company with a rapid-fire 43 from 27 balls, which included four fours and two towering sixes.

Lipson too chipped in with a useful 18 from eight balls later in the innings and helped Thrissur reach 164 for seven in their 20 overs.

Heman and Vilas took two wickets each for Pathanamthitta. Heman finished with figures of 26-2 from four overs, while Vilas bagged two for 14 from his two overs.

Though being faced with a big total to chase, Pathanamthitta attacked and tried their best to reach the target. However they got off to a bad start, losing their openers cheaply.
But Sujith who came in at number three boosted the morale of his team with a 26-ball 38. Vineet (20), Naeemullah (20) and Villas (27) too chipped in with some useful runs, but the experience of Thrissur bowlers helped them win the thriller by 11 runs.

Ambey was the pick of the bowlers with three for 22 from his four overs, while Samad took two for 35.

Shahzad was named man of the match.