JOIN USPanthers ride on Chipli knock
Riding on the back of a quickfire half-century from opener Bharath Chipli (77, 46b, 6x4, 3x6), Belagavi Panthers romped past Rockstars in their Karnataka Premier League match here at the Gangotri Glades on Monday.
Put into bat, the Panthers made 214/4 in their 20 overs and Rockstars were always going to struggle in their chase, needing in excess of 10 runs per over. They were promptly bowled out for 118 in 16.3 overs to lose the match by 94 runs.
Panthers, skippered by Karnataka’s fast-bowler R Vinay Kumar, have now won two in two while the Rockstars have lost three in as many games. The victory also means that Panthers top the table with four points from two games (they have a better run rate than Mangalore United) at this stage of the competition.
The Panthers made a solid start with openers Suneel Raju (38, 35b, 2x4, 1x6) and Chipli taking the attack to the opposition right from the first ball. Their association was worth 107 runs before wicketkeeper Sudeep stumped Raju off the bowling of left-arm spinner Vivek Gopan.
Chipli then combined with one-drop Nidhish M (37, 20b, 3x2, 2x6) as they put on a whirlwind 43 runs off just 24 balls to take the Panthers to the 150-run mark before Shabbir Ahluwalia removed Bharath.
Some lusty blows from Vinay and Gowtham ensured that the Panthers crossed the 200-run mark.
The Rockstars’ innings got off to a worst possible start as they lost three wickets for 31 runs in just 4.1 overs. Opener Rajeev (41, 22b, 7x4, 1x6) was the only player to show some resistance as the other batsmen succumbed to the pressure of chasing a huge total.
Naveen (3/16) and Gowtham K (3/28) were the main wicket takers for the Panthers as the Rockstars continued to lose wickets.
Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers: 214/4 in 20 overs (Bharath Chipli 77, Suneel Raju 38, Nidhish M 37) bt Rockstars: 118 all out in 16.3 overs (Rajeev 41, Sudeep 30; Naveen 3-16, Gowtham K 3-28).