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Sanju Samson completely failed to deliver with the bat as Kerala suffered a 32-run defeat to Railways in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT). It was a disappointing batting performance as a whole from Kerala as they weren't able to reach the 150-run target and got restricted to 117/8 in 20 overs. On the other hand, Railways bounced back from the 8-wicket defeat to Mumbai in their previous match and recorded their first victory of the tournament.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, the Kerala bowling attack racked up four wickets in the first 10 overs of Railways' innings. None of the batters were able to play any big innings and it was instead the impactful cameos of Navneet Virk (32) and Ravi Singh (25) that carried the team to a respectable total of 149/8. For Kerala, pacer KM Asif was the top performer as he racked up three scalps while both Akhil Scaria and Sharafudheen also contributed well with two wickets each.
Kerala batters disappoint big time
In reply, Kerala got off to a slow start as the opening duo of Samson and Rohan Kunnummal found it hard to score runs. Soon after, the latter got dismisased for eight runs in the fifth over. Kerala lost their second wicket in the ninth over in the form of Ahamed Imran and this dismissal opened the floodgates.
Samson departed in the very next over after scoring just 19 runs from 25 deliveries and soon, Kerala were down to 58/5. It was a highly disappointing batting display from Kerala as Samson eventually turned out to be their top-scorer for the day and they finished their 20 overs on 117/8. On the other hand, it was a fantastic effort from the Railways bowling attack, who made the opposing batters fight for each and every run. Seamer Bihari Rai recorded figures of 3/23 while spinner Shivam Choudhary also chipped in with two scalps as Railways cruised to a much-needed win.
Kerala hope to improve in next fixture
It was a disappointing effort from Samson & Co. who had decimated Odisha in their previous match by 10 wickets. Samson himself had played a fine knock of 51 in that game, but Rohan Kunnummal had been the star of the show with his sublime inning of 121 that had seen Kerala record a one-sided victory to begin the tournament in style. Their next fixture in the SMAT will be against Chhattisgarh and will take place on November 30.
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