Stuart Binny was once again the star of the show, his all-round display helping Belagavi Panthers to a 30-run victory over Mysuru Warriors in the Karnataka Premier League match at the S.D.N.R Wadiyar ground in Mysuru on Saturday, September 9.
Binny's unbeaten 28-ball 52 helped Belagavi post 180 for 5 after being put into bat. Thereafter, all of Binny, Shubang Hegde and Darshan Machaiah returned two wickets apiece as Mysuru were restricted to 150 for 8 in their 20 overs, despite KC Avinash's valiant 31-ball 47.
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The win took Belagavi to second spot in the points table.
Belagavi rode on regular partnerships, despite the early wicket of Stalin Hoover (2). Shashindra and BR Sharath then got together to add a quick 39, with both batsmen picking on V Vyshak to enter double figures. The stand was broken when J Suchith deceived Sharath (14), the batsman attempting a slog-sweep only to miss the ball completely and be trapped in front.
In came Manish Pandey, fresh after scoring a half-century in the Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka. He wasted no time playing his shots, picking consecutive fours off the unpredictable Shivil Kaushik.
Mysuru were handed an unexpected lifeline when Shashindra, having scored a steady 23-ball 19, retired hurt.
That brought Binny in the middle, and thereafter, the Mysuru bowlers were made to chase leather as Binny picked up where he left off against Bengaluru Blasters on Friday. For a while, Binny and Pandey, two of the premier players of the state, worked in tandem, putting on a quick 21.
Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers 180 for 5 in 20 overs (Stuart Binny 52*; S Rakshith 26; NP Bhareth 1-31) beat Mysuru Warriors 150 for 8 in 20 overs (KC Avinash 47; Shreyas Gopal 25; Stuart Binny 2-23, Shubang Hegde 2-32) by 30 runs
Mithun, Nidish star for Bijapur Bulls in thriller
Earlier in the day, It was power-hitting at its brilliant best as Abhimanyu Mithun (30 not out off 10) and M Nidish (33 not out off 16) clubbed Bijapur Bulls to a thrilling four-wicket victory over Bellary Tuskers, the defending champions of KPL.
CM Gautam's unbeaten 35-ball 50 had helped Bellary post 172 for 6 after batting first. Bijapur were then reduced to 118 for 6 in the 17th over of their chase, still needing 55 more runs. However, Mithun and Nidish combined to destructive effect, adding 55 runs off just 17 deliveries to complete a thrilling turnaround for Bijapur.
Also playing a crucial role in Bijapur's chase was their captain, Bharath Chipli. He took on both Zahoor Faroqui and Prateek Jain, and continued on the attack despite losing Mohammed Taha (8), his opening partner. Jain was repeatedly punished by Chipli, as was Amit Verma, and though Bhavesh Gulecha managed to restrict the flow of runs, Bijapur began the tenth over well-placed at 73 for 1.
However, Bellary got their noses back into the game when Anil IG, the left-arm spinner, managed to dismiss Chipli after the half-way point of the innings. The captain had made a 35-ball 65, and his absence was felt by Bijapur. Naveen MG was cleaned up by Jain for a 26-ball 17, and Gulecha saw off Sharath (5) in the very next over. After a powerful start, Bijapur were reduced to 94 for 4.
Dikshanshu Negi and Nidish M added a risk-free 22 to steady the innings, but one Faroqui over seemed to shift the momentum Bellary's way once again. Faroqui bowled the 17th over and had Negi (10) dismissed, beating him for pace. AM Kiran, the new man, was then run out after a mix-up with Nidish.
However, Mithun then entered the fray. He used his muscles well to loft two sixes off the final two balls of the over, lofting both down the ground for six. Nidish then repeated the feat off Jain, clubbing a couple of consecutive sixes, one of which cleared the ground. The target was reduced to 25 off the final two overs.
And just like that, Bijapur had completed a massive turnaround against the defending champion, Mithun's 10-ball knock comprising four hugely important sixes.
Brief scores: Bellary Tuskers 172 for 6 in 20 overs (Amit Verma 46, CM Gautam 50; Abhimanyu Mithun 2-26, Naveen MG 2-35) lost to Bijapur Bulls 174 for 6 in 19.3 overs (Bharat Chipli 63, Nidish M 33*, Abhimanyu Mithun 30*; Zahoor Faroqui 2-41) by four wickets.
