Thrissur Titans overcame a stutter to beat a resilient Calicut Globstars by four wickets and win its maiden KCL title at the Sports Hub Greenfield Stadium in a final which started on Saturday and ended in the wee hours of Sunday.

Captain M.S. Akhil slammed Ibnul Afthaf over the deep square-leg fence to seal Titans’ triumph in the final over. Titans nearly messed up the chase and it needed a cameo from Akhil (19 n.o., 11b, 1×4, 1×6) to take them home.

After restricting Globstars to a below-par total of 167 for nine, Titans were cruising when Ahammed Imran (69, 49b, 7×4, 2×6) was going great guns. But Jose Perayil gave Globstars a big boost when he dismissed both Imran and Sanjeev Satheesan (29) in the 16th over.

T. Nikhil (14) perished to a catch in the deep and Mohammed Enaan (eight), too, fell when Titans were close to victory. However, Akhil kept his cool to secure the title for his side.

Imran underlined his growing stature as Kerala’s next big star by playing a well-paced knock until a rush of blood cost him his wicket.

Imran walked in after opener Vishnu Raj fell in the first over.

He began by uppercutting Akhin Sathar for a boundary and followed it up with a crisp cover drive off Ibnul.

He was the dominant partner in the 87-run third-wicket stand with Sanjeev who came in as concussion substitute for the injured Shoun Roger.

Imran smashed seven fours and a couple of sixes in his 49-ball 69.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Imran reached his fifty with a reverse-scooped boundary off Jose. His dismissal against the run of play gave Globstars a sniff of a chance.

Earlier, opting to bat, Globstars were pegged back in the PowerPlay.

Akhil Scaria (45) and Aswin Anand (40) added a brisk 70 for the third wicket, taking chances against the spinners.

Biju Narayanan broke the threatening stand by forcing a poor shot from Scaria and Aswin followed him soon after, falling to leg-spinner Akhil. However, Globstars struggled to force the pace against some crafty bowling by Titans at the death.

Prized scalp

Left-arm medium-pacer Abdul Ramees bowled an excellent spell and took the big wicket of Salman Nizar.

The designated finishers, Krishna Devan and Abdul Basith, couldn’t fire as Globstars could only add 50 runs from the last six overs.

The scores: Calicut Globstars 167/9 in 20 overs (Akhil Scaria 45, Aswin Anand 40, Ramees 3/32, Anand Joseph 2/24, Sarath 2/32) lost to Thrissur Titans 169/6 in 19.3 overs (Ahammed Imran 69, Sanjeev Satheesan 29, Ibnul Afthab 2/29, Jose Perayil 2/36).