Stallion Hoover of Belagavi Panthers drives against Ballary Tuskers during the KPL match at SDNR Wadiyar Stadium in Mysuru on Tuesday. DH photo
Belagavi Panthers produced a disciplined performance to secure a 25-run win over defending champions Ballari Tuskers in the Karnataka Premier League at the SDNR Wadiyar ground here on Tuesday.
Batsman Stalin Hoover’s vital knock of 61 off 43 balls helped Belagavi set a total of 154 before K Gowtham’s superb bowling effort (4/23) restricted Ballari to 129/9 in the final match at the venue. The victory helped Belagavi take top spot with six points above Hubli Tigers, thanks to a superior net run-rate.
Put in to bat first, Belagavi got off to a blistering start with Hoover doing the initial damage. He was dropped on 11 off Amit Verma’s over. To drive home the point, Hoover hit consecutive boundaries, including a six off Bhavesh Gulecha in the next over.
Gulecha though bounced back to take opener BR Sharath’s (17) wicket while K Gowtham (5) was bowled by Verma. But Hoover carried on and notched up his half-century off just 32 balls with a six off Anil IG in the ninth over. Manish Pandey also contributed with an adventurous 12-ball 24 before getting out to Anil. Two balls later, Hoover also fell, having scored a fine 43-ball 61.
In the 13th over, Belagavi found themselves struggling at 111/4. S Rakshith then scored a fighting 13-ball 14 but the rest failed to back him up, all falling for single digit scores. Belagavi were bundled out, with two balls remaining. Prateek Jain returned with figures of three for 29 for Ballari.
Ballari made a cautious start, knowing the target wasn’t too daunting. Unfortunately, Belagavi dismissed their batsmen before they could do significant damage.
Rohan Kadam (8) was run out. Amit Verma (4) mistimed his effort off a Shubhang Hegde’s delivery while Kunal Kapoor was stumped after some good work by Sharath behind the stumps.
Pawan kept the scoreboard ticking for Ballari but found no one by his side. Ballari’s in-form batsman CM Gautam (11) also failed to get going and was bowled by S Arvind.
Big-hitting Abhinav Manohar’s 10-ball 21 did provide Ballari some hope but Gowtham struck right on time to get him out. He then had Devdutt Padikkal stumped off the very next ball.
Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers: 154 in 19.4 overs (Stalin Hoover 62, Manish Pandey 24; Prateek Jain 3-29, Amit Verma 2-19) bt Ballari Tuskers: 129/9 in 20 overs (KB Pawan 64 n.o., Abhinav Manohar 21; K Gowtham 4-23).