Argus News - Rohan Kunnummal, Sanju Samson Power Kerala to Scintillating Win against Odisha in SMAT

Bhubaneswar, Nov 26: Rohan Kunnummal was at his explosive best as he decimated Odisha bowling line-up with absolute ease helping Kerala to a scintillating 10-wicket victory in their Elite Group A match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) T20 tournament in Lucknow, Wednesday.

Ahead of the match, all eyes were on skipper Sanju Samson, who is in the headlines following his move from Rajasthan Royals to Chennai Super Kings. However, he was kept quiet, not by the Odisha bowlers but by his opening partner — Rohan Kunnummal. Samson played the anchor role, the second fiddle to the 27-year-old swashbuckler.

Chasing a target of 177, what seemed like a competitive one at the end of first innings, Kerala were off to a flying start, thanks to Rohan Kunnummal. The explosive opening batter scored an impressive unbeaten 121 off just 60 balls, laced with 10 fours and an identical number of maximums.

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Sanju Samson, who was enjoying the show at the runner end, gleefully accepted the anchor role and remained unbeaten on 51 (41b, 6x4, 1x6). The duo completed the chase without any sweat in just 16.3 overs.

For Odisha, the lowest economy — 8.50 — in bowling was recorded by Vageesh Sharma (0/17 in 2 overs). The only other Odisha bowler to achieve a single-digit economy in the match was the seasoned Biplab Samantray (0/18 in 20 overs).

Earlier, Kerala invited Odisha to bat first after winning the toss. Odisha responded strongly with the openers — Swastik Samal (20) and Gaurav Chaudhary (29) — adding 48 before the departure of the former on the second ball of the fifth over.

The wicket ensured Odisha lose all the momentum and wickets fell at regular intervals. In 7.2 overs, Odisha were reduced to 75/3 with Gaurav and Subhranshu Senapati back in the hut. However, skipper Biplab and Sambit Baral took some time to get going before changing gears. Biplab scored 53 off 41 balls, having five fours and a six to his name, while Sambit played a 32-ball 40-run knock laced with four 4s and a maximum.

The duo stitched together 79 runs for the fourth wicket guiding the team total past 150 in the 17th over. Odisha managed only 22 runs in the last 19 legal deliveries losing four wickets in the process, where the Kerala bowlers tightened the grip ensuring Odisha finish their innings on 176/7. MD Nidheesh was the standout among the Kerala bowlers with 4/35 from his four overs, having a disciplined support from KM Asif (2/24 in 4 overs).