JOIN USUnited’s victory was fashioned by the bruising willows of their openers Bharath Chipli and, more sensationally, skipper Rohit Sabharwall, out of sorts for most part of the tournament but getting his act together when it mattered most.
The Mangalore outfit posted a massive 201 for three, the joint highest total in KPL history, and the Diamonds caved in for 157 despite a brave unbeaten half-century from Sunil Joshi, the shrewd skipper who had masterminded his team’s charge to the semis.
Once Sabharwall and Chipli realised the highest opening stand of the tournament, a massive 139 off just 89 deliveries, the writing was very much on the wall.
Sabharwall, seemingly a man on a mission, was let off on 38 and 52 by Yere Goud and Mayank Agarwal respectively, and he made the Diamonds pay a heavy price with his blistering 78 (44b, 7x4, 5x6).
Chipli 70 (53b, 7x4, 4x6) has made a more regular impact on this tournament. Having played second fiddle to Sabharwall, he came into his own once the skipper departed, smashing the bowling around as the Diamonds came seriously unstuck, R Jonathan and Udit Patel feasting on battered spirits and bruised egos.
Sabharwall wasn’t finished yet, snaffling four catches and effecting two stumpings to round off a perfect morning for himself, and for United.
SCOREBOARD
MANGALORE UNITED: Rohit Sabharwall c Goud b Patil 78, Bharath Chipli b Patil 70, R Jonathan c Bharath Kumar b Rajesh 25, Udit Patel (not out) 20, Azghar Pasha (not out) 0. Extras (B-1, LB-1, W-6) 8. Total (for 3 wkts, 20 overs) 201.
Fall of wickets: 1-139 (Sabharwall), 2-157 (Chipli), 3-200 (Jonathan).
Bowling: Sunil Joshi 3-0-34-0, DC Rajesh 4-0-40-1 (w-1), BN Bharath 4-0-32-0 (w-3), Prasanna Patil 4-0-48-2 (w-1), Sunil Raju 4-0-30-0 (w-1), Bharath Kumar V 1-0-15-0.
SHAMANUR DAVANGERE DIAMONDS: Mayank Agarwal c Sabharwall b Arvind 13, Pawan Deshpande (run out) 16, M Nidish c Sabharwall b Pasha 15, Sunil Raju st Sabharwall b Patel 16, Sunil Joshi (not out) 51, BN Bharath c Sabharwall b Patel 15, Bharath Kumar V st Sabharwall b Aleem 0, DC Rajesh c Arvind b Aleem 1, Yere Goud (run out) 15, Prasanna Patil c Sabharwall b Sequeria 2, A Chiranjeevi (run out) 3. Extras (LB-3, W-7) 10.
Total (all out, 19.1 overs) 157.
Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Agarwal), 2-49 (Nidish), 3-51 (Deshpande), 4-82 (Ranu), 5-100 (BN Bharath), 6-103 (Bharath Kumar), 7-105 (Rajesh), 8-132 (Goud), 9-136 (Patil).
Bowling: S Arvind 4-0-24-1 (w-1), Udit Patel 4-0-37-2 (w-1), Daniel Sequeria 3.1-0-14-1, Azghar Pasha 4-0-30-1 (w-2), Mohd Aleem 3-0-37-2 (w-3), Karun Nair 1-0-12-0.