A statement knock (93, 53b, 11×4, 3×6) from captain Vathsal Govind eclipsed an unbeaten century from Mohammed Azharudden and powered Aries Kollam Sailors to a six-wicket win over Alleppey Ripples in the Kerala Cricket League at the Sports Hub Greenfield stadium on Tuesday.

Vathsal, who shed his image as an accumulator, rode his luck (dropped on zero and 67) to tear the Ripples attack to shreds and carry Sailors to their second win in the league. Vathsal blended traditional shot-making with signature T20 shots like the ramp and reverse sweep to help Sailors chase down a target of 187 with 14 balls to spare.

Sailors started the chase disastrously, losing Arun Polouse for a duck, bowled through the gate by Vinil. However, Abhishek J. Nair counterattacked and Vathsal, after the early reprieve, got into his groove, with the pair adding 96 runs for the second wicket in quick time. Abhishek fell soon after completing his half-century, but Vathsal assumed the role of enforcer to take Sailors to the doorstep of victory.

Earlier, Ripples overcame a slow start to post a competitive 186 for three, thanks to a late flourish from centurion Azharuddeen (100, 51b, 6×4, 7×6). Azharuddeen, who was dropped on 27, 29, 60 and 75, added 101 for the second wicket with Sachin Baby (40) and finished with a flourish by taking 19 runs from M.D. Nidheesh’s final over of the innings.

The scores: Alleppey Ripples 186/3 in 20 overs (Mohammed Azharuddeen 100 n.o., Sachin Baby 40) lost to Aries Kollam Sailors 187/4 in 17.4 overs (Vathsal Govind 93, Abhishek J. Nair 52, K. Ajinas 2/45).

Monday’s match: Trivandrum Royals 185/6 in 20 overs (Sijomon Joseph 56 n.o., Vishnu Vinod 32, Akshay Manohar 32, Krishna Prasad 25, Karthik B. Nair 3/21) bt Kochi Blue Tigers 130/9 in 20 overs (Karthik B. Nair V. 41 n.o., Ajith 2/18, Sijomon Joseph 2/20).

The player auction for the third season of the Kerala Cricket League (KCL) is expected to spring a few surprises, with some of the biggest names in Kerala cricket going under the hammer on Saturday.  

Explosive batter and IPL star Vishnu Vinod, former Kerala captain Sachin Baby, Vignesh Puthur, under-19 internationals Manav Krishna and Mohammed Ennan, and veteran all-rounder Vinoop Manoharan are among the 139 players up for grabs

However, it is unlikely that any of these players will break Sanju Samson’s record-breaking price of ₹26.80 lakh, which Kochi Blue Tigers paid last season. 

While the six franchises have retained a total of 17 players, they are expected to spend the remaining purse wisely to build their squads. Each franchisee must buy at least four players from Pool A category. 

The total team budget and salary cap of players across all categories remained unchanged from last season.

The 32 players enlisted in Pool A command a base price of ₹3 lakh. Pool B features 37 players with a base price of ₹1.5 lakh. Pool C, which comprises under-19 and club-level cricketers, has the highest representation, with 87 players all carrying a base price of ₹75,000. 

Having retained only Mohammed Azharuddeen, Alleppey Ripples enters the auction with the maximum available budget of ₹42.5 lakh. 

The available purse with the other franchises is as follows: Kochi Blue Tigers (₹41 lakh); Trivandrum Royals (₹39.5 lakh); Aries Kollam Sailors (₹34.5 lakh); Thrissur Titans (₹34.5 lakh); Calicut Globstars (₹33.75 lakh).

Charu Sharma will return as the auctioneer for the third successive season.