Tuskers enter semis

Panthers beat United to book their last-four berth

A superb revival by middle-order batsmen B Akhil and Chiranjeevi SG gave Bellary Tuskers a crucial six-wicket victory over defending champions Bijapur Bulls on Thursday to seal their semifinal spot in the Karbonn Karnataka Premier League here.

Chasing a revised target of 130 from 17 overs, the Tuskers overcame a slump to finish the match with seven balls to spare.

Bellary found themselves on 29 for four in 4.3 overs with Chiranjeevi and Akhil at the crease, facing a herculean task.

Despite starting slowly, the duo added 104 in 11.2 overs, with Akhil scoring a quick-fire 61 off 38 balls and Chiranjeevi making 42 from 31 balls, to hand their side the victory.

With heavy downpour interrupting play after the 13th over of Bijapur Bulls’ innings and team tottering at 90 for five, the match was reduced to 17 overs.

Earlier, led by captain Amit Verma and Prateek Jain, Bellary Tuskers ensured the Bulls would find the scoring tough.

Prateek’s decisive second over which got rid of KC Avinash followed by the wicket of the well set Ravikumar Samarth saw Tuksers tighten the stranglehold on the Bulls.

Captain Robin Uthappa then fell to Verma and the Bulls were reduced to 87 for four in 11.3 overs.

None of the batsmen that followed could muster meaningful contributions and the Bulls finished their innings on 125 for nine in 17 overs. 

The Bijapur bowling attack began on a sprightly manner as paceman Abhimanyu Mithun and Zahoor Farooqi snared Tuskers’ openers in span of two overs. With skipper Verma and Sunil Raju going cheaply with the score reading 29, it seemed as though the Bulls were on course for a win but Chiranjeevi and Akhil changed the entire script for Tuskers.

Having won their fourth match on the trot, Tuskers consolidated their second position behind Mysuru Warriors, who are already in the semis.

Panthers in semis

A timely unbeaten century by opener Mayank Agarwal sealed Belagavi Panthers’ semifinals spot alongside Bellary Tuskers and Mysuru Warriors.

Agarwal’s ton helped Panthers amass 175 for one in 15 overs.

They then bowled out Mangalore United for 137 to win by 39 runs by the VJD method after rains interrupted play.

Panthers were in a must-win situation. A no-result or loss would have ejected them from the tournament.

Agarwal (119 not out off 51 balls) and Anurag Bajpai (51 off 39 balls) batted aggressively right from the start.

A rain interruption in the fourth over was the reason for Panthers to worry. But once the match recommenced, with overs reduced to 15 overs a side, Agarwal upped the ante with his hitting and registered his ton.

It was his third century in KPL and the highest individual score of the tournament.
The first wicket pair accumulated 169 runs in 14.5 overs, a total beyond Mangalore’s reach. The Mangalore team’s chase was promising, with skipper Karun Nair (26) and M Vishwanathan putting on 45 runs in quick time.

Vishwanathan made a rapid 46 off 28 balls but United were always fighting a losing battle.  

Brief Scores: Bijapur Bulls: 125/9 in 17 overs (R Samarth 38, Robin Uthappa 29; Amit Verma 3-22, Prateek Jain 2-30) lt to Bellary Tuskers 133/4 for 15.5 overs (Chiranjivi GS 42 n.o., B Akhil 61 n.o.; Abhimanyu Mithun 2/16).

Belagavi Panthers: 175/1 in 15 overs (Mayank Agarwal 119 n.o, Anurag Bajpai 51) bt Mangalore United: 137 all out in 14.1 overs (M Vishwanathan 45, Ronit More 35, Karun Nair 26; Vinay Kumar 2-13, Abhishek Sakuja 3-16, Avishek Sinha 2-29, CK Akshay 3-21).