HYDERABAD: Kerala's knockout hopes are now hanging in balance after the team suffered a heartbreaking loss to Andhra Pradesh in the final group match of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Cricket Tournament. Kerala lost to Andhra by six wickets on Tuesday.

After losing the toss and going to bat first, Kerala could manage only 87 runs in 18.1 overs. Andhra surpassed the score in a canter with 42 balls and four wickets to spare. The dismal performances from Captain Sanju Samson (7), Rohan Kunnummal (9), Azharuddin (0), Salman Nizar (3) and Vishnu Vinod (1) turned the match in Andhra's favour.

Sashikant took three wickets for Andhra while K. Sudarshan, Satyanarayana Raju and Bodhala Kumar took two wickets each. Sreekar Bharat (56*) scored a half-century in batting. Andhra's coach is Tinu Yohannan, a former Indian player and Malayali.

With six matches completed in Group E, Kerala has secured 16 points with four wins and is in second place behind Andhra Pradesh. Andhra is first with 20 points from five matches. Mumbai is third with 16 points from five matches.

Two teams from each group qualify for the knockout stages. The match between Andhra and Mumbai will be decisive for Kerala. If Mumbai wins, Kerala will be shown the exit door from the tournament. If Andhra wins, Mumbai and Kerala will reach the same point level but Kerala will progress in the knockout stages as they have won the match against Mumbai earlier.

Kerala, Mumbai and Maharashtra will have 16 points each if Maharashtra beats Services in their sixth match. If three teams reach the same point on the table, the progressing team will be selected based on net run rate.