Bijapur Bulls got off to a winning start, thumping Bellary Tuskers by seven wickets in a rain-curtailed Karnataka Premier League match here at the Gangotri Glades on Saturday.
Put into bat by Bulls’ skipper Deepak Chougule, Tuskers managed a competitive 145 for eight. The Tuskers owed their total to D Nischal’s 49-ball 50 (5x4) and his two crucial associations, identical 49 runs, with skipper C Raghu (26, 19b) and Devraj Patil’s 23. Apart from this, there was nothing much to shout home about Tuskers’ innings.
Pacemen Abhimanyu Mithun (2/17), Abhishek Bhat (3/26) and Naveen MG (2/23) were impressive on a day when spinners were taken to the cleaners.
A rain interruption before Bulls could begin their chase forced the umpires to revise the target to 87 from 10 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method. Though the asking rate jumped up to 8.7 runs per over, way above the initial 7.25, the reduced duration more often works in favour of the chasing side. Bulls drove home that point in emphatic style, plundering 22 in the opening over bowled by Md Niyas Nizar.
The second over by K Hoysala, too, leaked quite a few runs as Bulls raced to 50 in just 29 balls with R Samarth rattling 32 in just 13 balls (4x4, 2x6).
Having got off to a desired start, Bulls knocked off the required number of runs in just 8.2 overs to pocket two points.
Panthers win
A disciplined bowling performance by Belagavi Panthers saw them open their campaign on a bright note as R Vinay Kumar’s side eked out a 14-run win over Hubli Tigers in the day’s second match. This was also Tigers’ second loss after their 31-run defeat at the hands of Mysore Warriors on Friday.
Batting by choice, Panthers managed 156 for six with Rohan Kadam (60, 44b, 5x4, 1x6) making a handsome contribution. Stalin Hoover (20, 10b, 2x4, 1x6) came up with some fireworks towards the end to bolster the total.
It was Hoover again that did the trick for the Panthers with the ball. The medium pacer claimed three top-order batsmen, including the dangerous KL Rahul (45, 35b, 4x4, 1x6) and Jonathan Rongsen, while giving away just 20 runs in his four overs. Veteran paceman NC Aiyappa (1/23) too bowled a tidy spell as Tigers lost the plot despite a Kranthi Kumar’s 22-ball 33 towards the end.
Brief scores: Bellary Tuskers: 145/8 in 20 overs (D Nischal 50, Chandrasekhar Raghu 26; Abhimanyu Mithun 2-17, Abhishek Bhat 3-26, Naveen MG 2-23) lt to Bijapur Bulls: 87/3 in 8.2 overs (R Samarth 32). (Revised target 86 in 10 overs).
Belagavi Panthers: 156/6 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 60; M Kranti Kumar 3-21, Vinu Prasad 2-27) bt Hubli Tigers: 142/8 in 20 overs (KL Rahul 45, M Kranthi Kumar 33; Stalin Hoover 3-20).
On Friday: Mysore Warriors: 164/4 (KB Pawan 50, Shishir Bhavane 31; Praveen Dubey 2/16) bt Hubli Tigers: 133/9 in 20 overs (Rongsen Jonathan 52; Aditya B Sagar 3/22, Amith Verma 2/26, Suchith J 2/20).
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