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Tigers tame Panthers

Last Updated 22 September 2016, 18:45 IST

Riding on an unbeaten half-century from Dikshanshu Negi, Hubli Tigers defeated Belagavi Panthers by four wickets to script their third win from four outings in the Karnataka Premier League here at the Rajnagar stadium on Thursday.

In a match that went to the wire, the Tigers clinched the tie with a ball to spare, handing Panthers their first loss of the tournament.

On another rain-hit day, captain Vinay Kumar slammed 70 (52b, 5x4, 2x6) while opener Mayank Agarwal (42, 28b, 5x4, 1x6) and Mir Kaunain Abbas (40, 29b, 3x4) produced useful knocks to help Panthers post a strong total of 177 for five in 20 overs.  

Hosts Tigers were off to a superb start, thanks to an 18-ball 43 from opener Mohammed Taha. Panthers did see the back of Taha in the fifth over but Negi’s responsible knock of 57 (43b, 3x4, 2x6) saw the Tigers home. 

The match, which was delayed by 20 minutes due to early afternoon drizzle, saw the Panthers take the first strike. Shoaib Manager (6) was the first to be dismissed, caught behind off Niyaz Nisar.

Despite the early blow, Vinay and Agarwal played fluently to steady the ship and built a partnership of 78 runs for the second wicket. Right-arm medium pacer Chetan Williams broke the stand when he dismissed Agarwal in the 11th over, caught by Stalin Hoover. Vinay then forged an alliance of 67 runs with Abbas to keep Panthers going.

Needing close to nine runs an over, the Tigers received a strong start through Taha’s quickfire knock. Studded with four sixes and three fours, Taha dominated the experienced pace duo of Vinay and HS Sharath. Vinay removed Taha to apply brakes on the Tigers’ innings but Negi ensured that the hosts remained in hunt. Taha’s enterprising effort in the middle provided Negi the necessary platform to go after Panthers’ bowlers and the right-hander remained unbeaten to help his side seal a narrow win.
Negi was adjudged the man of the match.

Shivamogga score
In the day’s other game, Pavan Deshpande and Stuart Binny came up with the goods as Namma Shivamogga recorded a seven-wicket win against Mangalore United.

Chasing 144 for a win the Shivamogga team were reduced to 69 for three in the 10th over when Pavan joined Binny and set about flaying the rival attack. His brilliant 47 off just 30 deliveries (2x6, 5x4) and an unbroken 75-run fourth wicket stand with Binny 31 not out (23b, 4x4) saw the team winning in a canter with 13 balls to spare.

Earlier, put in to bat, United made late rally to ramp up their final score to 143 for six in 20 overs. The Mangalore side were 100 for four in the 17th over and were in danger of being restricted to under 125, but M Nidhish’s aggressive 32 led the late charge on the opposition.

United had a good opening stand of 69 between their most experienced batsmen, CM Gautham (49) and skipper Karun Nair (29). Although the duo had weathered the new ball and set a good platform, the other batsmen failed to capitalise.

Then, just when it looked like Namma Shivamogga would have a cakewalk Nidhish came up with his late assault. Left arm spinner KP Appanna (2/17) was the pick of the bowlers.
DH News Service

Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers: 177/5 in 20 overs (Vinay Kumar 70, Mayank Agarwal 45, Mir Kaunian Abbas 40; Sreenath Arvind 2-32) bt Hubli Tigers: 179/6 in 19.5 overs (Dikshanshu Negi 57 n.o., Mohammed Taha 43; Praveen Dubey 2-32).

Mangalore United: 143/6 in 20 overs (CM Gautham 49, M Nidhish 32, Karun Nair 29; KP Appana 2/17) lt to Namma Shivamogga: 144/3 in 17.5 overs (Pavan Deshpande 47 n.o, Stuart Binny 31 n.o, Sadiq Kirmani 26).

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(Published 22 September 2016, 18:45 IST)

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