Robin Uthappa and Sachin Baby makes fifties as Kerala go to eight points
Fast bowler S Sreesanth was among the heroes for Kerala as they beat Uttar Pradesh by three wickets to register their second win in two games in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The fast bowler took 5 for 65 as Kerala bowled UP out for 283, before fifties from Robin Uthappa (81 off 55) and Sachin Baby (76 off 83) laid the foundation for a chase that went deep.
Sreesanth is playing in his first full domestic season for Kerala since 2013 following his ban in relation to the IPL spot fixing episode. Having completed a full Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season for them, Sreesanth’s wicket tally after this five-for is now seven wickets in two games.
It is 37-year-old Sreesanth’s second five-wicket haul in List A cricket, the first one being his ODI-best 6 for 55 against England in 2006. He dismissed two of UP’s half-centurions, opener Abhishek Goswami and middle-order batsman Akshdeep Nath and took the last four wickets of the innings, including that of Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
In response, Kerala lost Vishnu Vinod early to Bhuvneshwar, but a brisk 104-run stand between Uthappa and Sanju Samson kept them on track with the required rate. Two quick wickets followed, however, and it took consolidation from the middle order before No. 9 M Nidheesh struck an unbeaten 13 off 6 to help them get over the line.