JOIN USUnited stay alive with win
As things transpired, however, Mangalore United, staring at elimination after stacking up a manageable 135 all out in 19.4 overs, eked out a dramatic two-run win in a match that gave little inkling of going to the wire here at the Chinnaswamy stadium on Thursday. In fact, there was hardly any drama until the last of the Gladiators’ innings, off which they needed an improbable 25 runs to cross the line.
Mohammad Aleem, the bespectacled left-arm spinner who had maintained a tight leash in his first three overs, was struck for two sixes off the first two balls by Sanjay Kumar before Bharath Chipli held a well-judged catch near the rope. Nishant Hegde (26, 18b, 3x4) then took two runs off the fourth and cut Aleem to the fence off the fifth. Needing six to tie off the last ball, the burly Hegde slammed straight, but could only manage four.
It was a heart-breaking finish for the Gladistors, but they have only themselves to blame for leaving the charge so late. Skipper Ganesh Satish, the hero of their previous win, was the main culprit, consuming 32 balls for his 19. Rajoo Bhatkal (30, 25b, 2x4, 1x6) did his best, but it wasn’t good enough under the circumstances where off-spinner Udit Patel struck gold with a three-wicket haul, including that of Ganesh. Left-arm seamer S Arvind too was exceptional in his first spell (3-0-14-0), having Ganesh in all sorts of trouble.
It wasn’t any different when United, inserted by Ganesh, batted in the afternoon. They could muster only 52 for four in the first half despite Jonathan Rongsen’s quickfire 28 (22b, 3x4, 1x6). The innings, however gathered momentum with Vijay Chavan (29, 19b, 1x4, 1x6) and man of the match Azghar Pasha (27, 14b, 3x4, 1x6), who also accounted for Gladiators’ opener K Shashindra, stepping on the pedal.
The diminutive paceman hit left-arm spinner SK Moinuddin for three fours in the innings’ 16th over as United hurtled to 81 off the last 10 overs, eventually ensuring their second win in as many matches and days. United’s win also halted Gladiators’s three-match winning streak after a first-match defeat at the hands of Belagavi Panthers.
Score Board
MANGALORE UNITED: N Nidhuvan b Sandesh 24, Bharath Chipli c Sanjay b Rohan 1, Karun Nair c Avinash b Sanjay 0, R Jonathan c Hegde b Bhatkal 28, Rohit Sabharwall c Shashindra b Bhatkal 0, Vijay Chavan (run out) 29, Udit Patel c Ganesh b Bhatkal 7, Azghar Pasha c Shashindra b Gowtham 27, Daniel Sequeria c Ganesh b Gowtham 8, S Arvind (not out) 5, M Aleem (run out) 0. Extras (LB-1, W-5) 6. Total (all out, 19.4 overs) 135.
Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Chipli), 2-2 (Nair), 3-51 (Jonathan), 4-52 (Sabharwall), 5-55 (Nidhuvan), 6-75 (Patel), 7-110 (Pasha), 8-128 (Sequeria), 9-135 (Chavan).
Bowling: SK Moinuddin 4-0-27-0, KP Rohan 3.4-1-26-1 (w-1), Sanjay Kumar 2-0-14-1, Rajoo Bhatkal 4-0-21-3, K Gowtham 4-0-29-2, Sandesh Satish 2-0-17-1 (w-4).
MALNAD GLADIATORS: Ganesh Satish c Nidhuvan b Patel 19, K Shashindra c Chipli b Pasha 0, KC Avinash b Aleem 18, Rajoo Bhatkal st Sabharwall b Sequeria 30, Kunal Kapoor c Nidhuvan b Patel 6, K Gowtham c Jonathan b Patel 7, Nishanth Hegde (not out) 26, Sanjay Kumar c Chipli b Aleem 16, SK Moinuddin (not out) 0. Extras (LB-2, W-9) 11. Total (for 7 wkts, 20 overs) 133.
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Shashindra), 2-41 (Avinash), 3-58 (Ganesh), 4-66 (Kapoor), 5-74 (Gowtham), 6-101 (Bhatkal), 7-123 (Sanjay).
Bowling: S Arvind 4-0-22-0 (w-2), Azghar Pasha 4-0-21-1 (w-4), Daniel Sequeria 4-0-22-1, Aleem 4-0-44-2, Udit Patel 4-0-22-3 (w-1).