ASM vs KER 2nd Qtr Final, SMAT T20 2023

Earlier, after being invited to bat first, Kerala got off to a shaky start as they lost Rohan Kunnummal (9 off 9), Varun Nayanar (7 off 7), Sanju Samson (0 off 1), Vishnu Vinod (12 off 17), and Shreyas Gopal (0 off 2) in quick succession and were reeling at 44/5 in the seventh over of the innings. Salman Nizar (the impact player) and Abdul Basith started the rescue mission for Kerala, and the duo played sensibly, rotating the strike carefully and pouncing on looseners. The duo took Kerala out of a dire situation and forged a 100+ run partnership for the sixth wicket. Basith departed after contributing 54 runs off 42 runs, while Nizar remained unbeaten on 57 runs off 44 balls, helping Kerala post a respectable 158/6 in 20 overs. Akash Sengupta shone with the ball for Assam, taking three wickets. Mrinmoy Dutta chipped in with a couple of wickets, while Mukhtar Hussain contributed one wicket. 

In pursuit of 158 runs, Assam lost Denish Das in the very first over of the innings. Rishav Das and Sumit Ghadigaonkar started building the partnership; the latter was a bit aggressive among the duo as he went on to notch up his half-century in a jiffy. Sijomon Joseph trapped Rishav for 14 runs and ceased the 69-run stand between the duo. 

Riyan Parag contributed 12 runs off 10 balls, but Ghadigaonkar continued his merry ways and took the game too far from Kerla. He was well-succored by Sibsankar Roy, who scored at a brisk pace from the word go. Ghadigaonkar failed to bat till the end, departing for 75 runs off 50 balls, while Sibsankar remained unbeaten on 42 runs off 22 balls. Bishal Roy finishes the game with a biggie, and Assam thump Kerala by six wickets with 17 balls to spare. 

Sijomon Joseph extracted a couple of wickets for Kerala, while Unnikrishnan Manukrishnan and KM Asif celebrated a wicket apiece. 

Assam played better cricket today and advanced into the semifinal, a big day for the Assam team and they would like to carry the momentum in the semi-final as well.