Provident move into semifinals

But in the end, the target proved too big for them to achieve as the Bangalore team scripted a 10-run victory on Monday, securing a berth in the last four. Provident made 156 for four in their 20 overs and Mysore needed to pass that in 15.3 overs to edge out Belagavi Panthers on better net run-rate to reach the semifinals. But they were left to do the catching-up work against a tight Provident attack and were bowled out for 146.

The semifinals, to be played on Tuesday, will pit Bangalore Brigadiers against Belagavi Panthers and Provident Bangalore against Bijapur Bulls. The fight for the semi spot was well and truly on when Mysore’s H T Sudhir Rao and Chetan Williams added 57 runs for the second wicket in just 32 balls after the early loss of player/coach GK Anil Kumar.

 The duo put the Provident attack under axe and even the normally parsimonious NC Aiyappa was not spared as runs flowed thick and fast. But the dismissal of Sudhir (32, 23b, 1x4, 2x6) dashed their hopes and the rest caved in without a fight, particularly against the spin of Sarfraz Ashraf.

Competitive score
Earlier, Provident, asked to bat first, reached a competitive score without exactly firing on all cylinders. They lost opener M K Manjunath in the budding stages of their innings, but V S Thilak Naidu and Amit Verma steadied the innings with a 73-run alliance for second wicket. The partnership was not built on raw aggression but a commonsense approach was the guiding force.

Naidu, who received a reprieve on 26, played with a lot of responsibility, leaving the aggressive ways to his junior partner. However, it was Naidu who gave the first hint of belligerence, smacking pacer Aditya Sagar for a maximum. But the wicketkeeper batsman soon cut all the frills, allowing Amit to take the centre stage with some fluent shots.

The left-hander preferred the safest area on the field, straight down past the bowler, to amass his runs and the aggrieved parties were Maharaajas’ skipper Raghu and left-arm spinner C Raghavendra. Maharaajas, however, got the breakthrough before the partnership turned into something bigger, jettisoning Amit. The sight of part-timer SP Manjunath perhaps spurred Amit into the adventurous but the ill-timed slash ended in the hands of Raghu.

Just as Naidu seemed to shift into a higher gear William castled him with a delivery that kept a shade low. But the beefy blows of Akhil (41, 21b, 4x6) ensured that Provident bowlers would have a target to bowl at.

Score Board
Provident Bangalore: MK Manjunath c Ashwath b Manoj 2, VS Thilak Naidu b William 43 (42b, 3x4, 1x6), Amit Verma c Raghu b Manjunath 41, B Akhil c William b Sagar 41, Sunil Kumar Jain (not out) 20, Aniruddha Joshi (not out) 7. Extras (LB-1, W-1) 2. Total (for 4 wkts, 20 overs) 156.
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-76, 3-100, 4-134.
Bowling: Aditya Sagar 4-0-29-1, KH Manoj 4-0-24-1, C Raghu 1-0-10-0, Chetan William 4-0-27-1, C Raghavendra 3-0-32-0, Shoaib Manager 3-0-27-0, SP Manjunath 1-0-6-1.

MYSORE MAHARAAJAS: GK Anil Kumar c MK Manjunath b DH Sunil 14, HT Sudhir Rao (run out) 32, Chetan William c A Joshi b Sarfraz 29, Aditya Sagar lbw Sarfraz 1, SP Manjunath c Naidu b Sarfraz 3, Shoaib Manager c Rahul Bhatkal b Akhil 11, C Raghu c SK Jain b Akhil 0, KB Pawan c Rahul Bhatkal b Amit 9, Ashwath Aiyappa c Manjunath b Sarfraz 5, KH Manoj (not out) 14, C Raghavendra (run out) 16. Extras (LB-4, W-8) 12. Total (all out in 19.1 overs) 146.
Fall of wickets: 1-28, 2-85, 3-88, 4-88, 5-91, 6-91, 7-101, 8-108, 9-119.
Bowling: Aiyappa 4-0-21-0, DH Sunil Kumar 3-0-28-1, Anand Katti 4-0-22-0, B Akhil 2.1-0-27-2, Sarfraz Ashraf 3-0-20-4, Amit Verma 3-0-24-1.