Sanju Samson smashed an unbeaten 65 as Kerala outplayed Goa by nine wickets. File photo: PTIVisakhapatnam: Sanju Samson smashed an unbeaten 65 as Kerala outplayed Goa by nine wickets to end their miserable run in the South Zone leg of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 Championships here on Friday.
Kerala, who had lost their first three games, overhauled the victory target of 139 with more than four overs to spare.
Sanju and Vishnu Vinod (34) put on 45 for the opening wicket. Sanju and K B Arun Karthick (37 not out) took them home with an unbeaten 95-run stand. Sanju's 44-ball knock contained four fours and as many sixes.
Earlier, Goa could manage only 138/8 after being asked to take first strike. K M Asif's strikes pushed Goa on the back foot and they lost openers Amogh Desai and Swapnil Asnodkar with only 14 on the board. Wicketkeeper-batsman Keenan Vaz top-scored with 36, while Asif and Abhishek Mohan scalped three each.
Kerala meet Karnataka in their final fixture on Sunday.
Brief scores: Goa 138/8 in 20 overs (Keenan Vaz 36; K M Asif 3/25, Abhishek Mohan 3/30) lost to Kerala 140/1 in 15.5 overs (Sanju Samson 65 not out).
Points: Kerala 4; Goa: 0.
Read also: More Cricket News | King's Cup: Messi brace sets up Barca's quarterfinal berth
