KPL 2016, Match 23 Review: Belagavi Panthers inch closer to securing semi-final berth

Belagavi Panthers moved one step closer to a semi-final berth when they crushed Rockstars by 9 wickets in a rain-truncated KPL match at the KSCA Stadium at Rajnagar on Wednesday.

Morning rains ensured that the match started 40 minutes late and Belagavi Panthers who needed to win this tie to stay in the race for a semifinal berth opted to field first under grey skies and the threat of rain hanging over their fortunes.

They dominated the afternoon match that was played under lights by constantly chipping away at the Rockstars batsmen. Only opener Vihaan Rajeev (24) made a worthwhile score. A target of 88 in 18 overs was never going to challenge the Panthers and with man of the match Mayank Agarwal 66 n.o. (31b, 7×6, 3×4) going great guns the win became a formality.

Brief scores:

Rockstars: 87 for 9 in 18 overs (Vihaan Rajeev 24, Raju Gowda 19, Satish Bharadwaj 3/12, S Sachin  2/ 32, Praveen Dubey 2/16, CK Akshay 2/9) lost to Belagavi Panthers: 91 for 1 in 8 overs (Mayank Agarwal 66 n.o, Kunaian Abbas 19 n.o.) by 9 wickets.

RockStars:

Vihaan Rajeev b Praveen Dubey 24(19b,4×2,6×2); Sharath BR (wk) c S Manager b Shinde 4(9b); Charan Teja c Anurag Bajpai b Satish Bharadwaj 3(9b); Madan Mohan c Pradeep T b Praveen Dubey 2(8b); Ritesh Bhatkal c Pradeep T b Shinde 9(17b);  Pradeep Bogadi c Pradeep T b Akshay CK 5(13b); Santhebennur Akshay c Anurag Bajpai b Satish Bharadwaj 14(13b,4×2); Raju Gowda c & b Satish Bharadwaj 19(11b,4×1,6×2);  Kichcha Sudeep (c) b Akshay CK 1(6b); Daivik Vishwanath not out 1(2b); Chandan V not out 0(1);

Extras 5  (b 0, lb 1, w 4, nb 0, p 0)

Total 87  (9 wkts, 18 Ov)

Fall of Wicket:

1-24 (Sharath BR, 3.5), 2-29 (Vihaan Rajeev, 4.4), 3-33 (Madan Mohan, 6.5), 4-36 (Charan Teja, 7.6), 5-47 (Pradeep Bogadi, 11.3), 6-59 (Ritesh Bhatkal, 13.3), 7-83 (Raju Gowda, 16.1), 8-83 (Santhebennur Akshay, 16.3), 9-87 (Kichcha Sudeep, 17.5)

Bowler:

Vinay Kumar 2-0-5-0; Ram Sharik Yadav 2-0-12-0; Sachin Shinde 3-0-32-2; Praveen Dubey 4-0-16-2; Akshay CK 3-0-9-2; Satish Bharadwaj 4-0-12-3;

Belagavi panthers

Mayank Agarwal not out 66(31b,4×3,6×7);Anurag Bajpai (wk) c Madan Mohan b P Bogadi 4(2b,4×1); Mir Kaunan Abbas not out 19(15b,4×2);

Extras 2  (b 0, lb 0, w 2, nb 0, p 0)

Total 91  (1 wkts, 8 Ov)

Fall of Wickets:

1-19 (Anurag Bajpai, 1.6)

Bowler:

Santhebennur Akshay 3-0-19-0; Pradeep Bogadi 1-0-14-1; Chandan V 1-0-22-0; Raju Gowda 2-0-28-0; Ritesh Bhatkal 1-0-8-0;

Points Table at the end of Match 23-Belagavi Panthers vs Rock Stars: 

Cap Holders:

Orange Cap: R Samarth

Purple Cap: P Dubey