Belagavi finish on top

An unbeaten 60 by skipper R Vinay Kumar and his 61-run association for the second wicket with Stalin Hoover (41) paved the way for Belagavi Panthers’ convincing seven-wicket win over Bijapur Bulls in a KPL match here on Wednesday.

With the victory, the Panthers achieved two things -- they went to the top of the table with a net run rate of +1.37 as against Bijapur Bulls’ +1.00; secondly they handed the Bulls their first defeat to ensure no team stayed unbeaten in the league phase.

Chasing the Bulls’ painfully slow 118, Belagavi lost opener Abhishek Reddy early. But Hoover and Vinay made merry on a wicket that was difficult to bat on.

Three teams, two from the first match of the day and the Bulls in the second failed to come to terms with the slowness of the wicket and struggled to make runs.

But the Panthers showed that they had shrugged off the lethargy they displayed on Monday night and went about ensuring victory for themselves.

After the fall of Hoover, Vinay continued to call the shots and led his team to a dominant win.