Persistent rain in Bengaluru on Saturday, September 2, meant the second clash of Karnataka Premier League 2017 between Bengaluru Blasters and Mysuru Warriors was truncated to an eight-overs-a-side encounter.
Despite that, what panned out at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium more than made up for the rain induced delay. In the end, Mysuru were comfortable winners, easing to a 38-run victory after posting 84 for 5, before restricting Bengaluru to 46 for 6 in their eight overs.
Put in, Mysuru started with intent, skipper Karun Nair being particularly energetic and putting away anything too short – he did so against Prasidh Krishna in the very first over, and V Koushik was punished when he made the same mistake from the other end.
Mysuru ruthless against spin
Mysuru shifted gears when spin was introduced, with Mitrakant Yadav, the left-arm spinner, at the receiving end of an onslaught from Man of the Match Arjun Hoysala. The batsman could give the ball an almighty whack, and he did so twice in the fourth over, with two consecutive sixes coming off slog sweeps.
However, Bengaluru soon broke through. Manjesh Reddy, the right-arm off-spinner, was punished for four by Hoysala after he pitched one too short, but he soon had (14 off 14) Karun beaten for pace and bowled through the gates.
In the next over, pace was reintroduced in the form of Koushik, and he found Hoysala in ominous form – he lapped a wide one to the short fine-leg fence after walking across his stumps.
Importantly for Bengaluru, Koushik then managed to get the better of Hoysala, deceiving the batsman by sending one wide of off-stump when Hoysala (31 off 18) expected one closer to middle and leg. He had stepped back in his crease, but was forced to reach out for the ball, and the edge was induced.
With just two overs left, the Mysuru batsmen decided to go for their shots. That suited SP Manjunath (18 off 7) just fine. He picked a four and two sixes off an Abhishek Bhat over, which marred the dismissal of Vinit Yadav for Bengaluru.
However, in the final over, when Mysuru were primed for one final assault, Prasidh (2 for 12) put in an excellent display, picking two wickets and giving away just seven runs to ensure the target was within reach for Bengaluru.
All-round effort from Mysuru
However, Mysuru were excellent with the ball as well. SL Akshay had the biggie, captain R Samarth, dismissed for nought off the fourth delivery of the innings and Rajoo Bhatkal (1 off 6) followed suit off V Vyshak in the next over, the bowler frustrating the batsman outside off before prompting the error. NP Bhareth then saw off the important Shishir Bhavane (0) and Bengaluru were in trouble at 8 for 3.
They never really recovered. Mysuru kept things tight, with Vyshak particularly impressive – he got his second wicket when Pavan Deshpande (8 off 7) holed out. M Vishwanathan (12 off 13) and Jeswanth Acharya (16 n.o. off 11 balls) swung their arms to boost the Bengaluru total, but there was no denying Mysuru and their all-round dominance.
Brief scores: Mysuru Warriors 84 for 5 in 8 overs (Arjun Hoysala 31, SP Manjunath 18; Prasidh Krishna 2-12) beat Bengaluru Blasters 46 for 6 in 8 overs (Jeswanth Acharya 16*, M Vishwanathan 12; SL Akshay 3-6, V Vyshak 2-13) by 38 runs.
