The former State opener pulverised defending champions Provident Bangalore with the most spectacular display of stroke-production on his way to a masterly 75 (53b, 5x4, 6x6) as United pulled off their first win in four attempts.
United made short work of a demanding target, romping to a magnificent seven-wicket victory with 19 deliveries to spare and consigning the holders to their third loss in four ties.
Provident tided over initial difficult batting conditions, thanks to a dampish pitch, to post 140 for eight after choosing to bat, Aniruddha Joshi’s pyrotechnics converting a middling total to a challenging one.
But only till such time as man of the match Chipli exploded, without warning. Coming off scores of 12, 0 and 1, he produced a series of stunning strokes as admiring new opening partner Karan Rao watched from the best seat in town.
Strokes cascaded with stunning regularity and devastating effect, a series of pulls early on against the quicks making way for meaty blows down the ground when the spinners came on. Anand Katti appeared completely clueless as the imperious Chipli emphatically destroyed Provident plans.
Chipli made 40 in a stand of 63 (58b) with Rao and contributed 35 in a 41-run (26b) association with R Jonathan before being caught in the deep, by which time United were within touching distance of a deserved and hitherto elusive maiden victory.
A fourth straight defeat appeared imminent when Provident recovered well from a poor start. MK Manjunath was dismissed in the first over by S Arvind, the left-arm seamer exceptional during an opening spell of 2-1-1-1, and last-match hero Thilak Naidu steered Udit Patel to slip – Chipli held both catches – but Provident shed the shackles through Amit Verma and Sunil Kumar Jain, both busy rather than breathtaking during a third-wicket stand of 63 (55b).
It was left to Joshi the finisher to provide the final flourish and he didn’t disappoint, smashing three sixes on his way to a 20-ball 37.
Score board
PROVIDENT BANGALORE: MK Manjunath c Chipli b Arvind 0, Thilak Naidu c Chipli b Patel 11, Amit Verma c Patel b Nair 30, Sunil Kumar Jain c Pasha b Aleem 30, Aniruddha Joshi c Patel b Pasha 37, Rahul Bhatkal st Sabharwall b Aleem 1, Kaunain Abbas c Nair b Sequeria 1, Sarfaraz Ashraf c Jonathan b Arvind 8, NC Aiyappa (not out) 6, DH Sunil Kumar (not out) 1. Extras (B-5, LB-2, W-8) 15. Total (for 8 wkts, 20 overs) 140.
Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Manjunath), 2-14 (Naidu), 3-77 (Verma), 4-81 (Jain), 5-94 (Bhatkal), 6-103 (Abbas), 7-123 (Ashraf), 8-134 (Joshi).
Bowling: S Arvind 4-1-20-2 (w-2), Azghar Pasha 4-0-39-1 (w-3), Udit Patel 4-0-21-1, Karun Nair 4-0-26-1, Aleem 3-0-18-2 (w-3), Daniel Sequeria 1-0-9-1.
MANGALORE UNITED: Karan Rao c Sunil b Verma 14, Bharath Chipli c Joshi b Aiyappa 75, R Jonathan (not out) 26, Karun Nair (not out) 16. Extras (LB-1, W-9) 10. Total (for 2 wkts, 16.5 overs) 141.
Fall of wickets: 1-63 (Rao), 2-104 (Chipli). Bowling: NC Aiyappa 3.5-0-39-1 (w-6), DH Sunil Kumar 2-0-15-0 (w-2), Aniruddha Joshi 3-0-18-0, Sarfaraz Ashraf 3-0-21-0 (w-1), Anand Katti 3-0-31-0, Amit Verma 2-0-16-1.
