Defending champions Mysuru Warriors defeated by Mangalore United

Man of the Match Mitrakant Yadav and skipper Rohit Sabharwal celebrate K Gowtham's wicket

Hubballi, September 5, 2015: A superlative 51-ball 87 from opening batsman Arjun Hoysala went in vain for Mysuru Warriors as a four wicket haul by Mangalore United spinner Mitrakant Yadav paved the way for the ‘Reds’ 39 runs victory in the Karbonn Smart KPL 2015 here on Saturday.

Chasing an imposing 192 for victory, set by United, mainly through a blazing 18 ball unbeaten 46 by BN Bharath, a stroke-filled 51-ball 67 by Karun Nair, coupled with a sedate 40 by Shishir Bhavane, the defending champs were on course in the chase until the 15th over.

Arjun Hoysala single-handedly seemed to be leading Mysuru’s charge until he was run out in the 15th over and the Warriors broke ranks to succumb to their second defeat in as many matches.

Hoysala took the bowlers by the scruff and along with No 3 bat Manjesh Reddy was helping the Warriors march along with an 82-run partnership when Reddy was forced to retire with cramps.

The Southpaw continued to lead the Warriors onslaught and was going great guns when a nudge by CM Gautam to backward of point saw the pair running. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Hoysala was short of his ground to a direct hit from Udit Patel.

Yadav struck at regular intervals to undo the work of Hoysala and Mysuru were found wanting.

Man of the Match Yadav said that his team was very confident and that is what made a difference in this game. “We had sorted out our batting line-up and managed to post a good total batting first, so it was not too tough for me to defend the score. However, I think we could have bowled better during the power play and we will look to improve on that in our next game.”

Earlier Mangalore United got off to a rollicking start with Nair and Kadam, promoted up the order, unleashing some delectable shots early in the innings. Karun Nair, in particular, was in his innovative best. His ability to create shot making opportunities had the opposition bowlers disoriented and Bharath made the most of it tonking three huge sixes and four fours.

If the bowlers were all at sea, the fielding of the defending champs left much to desire with catches going abegging on many occasions. Karun was the beneficiary twice and Bhavane enjoyed a life too among the top scorers.

SCOREBOARD

Toss: Won by Mysuru Warriors; opted to field

Mangalore United:

Rohan Kadam c CM Gautam b G Naveen 25 (19b, 3 x 4); Karun Nair c Suchith b Shantaraju 67 (51b, 10 x 4); Sishir Bhavane c CK Akshay 40 (32b, 3 x 4); Arshdeep Brar c Sub (Shoiab) b G Naveen 4; BN Bharath (not out) 46 (18b, 4 x 3, 3 x 6); Udit Patel (not out) 0. Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-4, nb-2) 9.

Total: (For four wickets, 20 overs) 191

Fall of wickets: 1-56 (Kadam); 2-110 (Nair); 3- 120 (Brar); 4-166 (Bhavane).

Bowling: David Mathias 4-0-50-0; DS Sunil Kumar 3-0-31-0; CK Akshay 1-0-15-0; G Naveen 4-0-19-2; K Gowtham 2-0-15-0; J Suchith 4-0-30-1; G Shantharaju 2-0-28-1.

Mysuru Warriors:

Arjun Hoysala (run out) 87 (51b, 9 x 4, 2 x 6); Manish Pandey c Udit b BN Bharat 1; Manjesh Reddy lbw b M Yadav 25 (18b, 1 x 4, 1 x 6); G Naveen c R Kadam b K Nair 9; CK Akshay b M Yadav 5; J Suchith c K Nair b M Yadav 1; CM Gautam c A Brar b R More 3; K Gowthan lbw b M Yadav 0; David Mathias b BN Bharath 8; DS Sunil Kumar c R Sabharwal b R More 0; Shantharaju (not out) 2.

Extras: (lb-7, w-4) 11.

Total: (All out; 17.4 overs) 152

Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Pandey); 2-106 (Naveen); 3-124 (Akshay); 4-126 (Suchith); 5-137 (Reddy); 6-137 (Hoysala); 7-137 (Gowtham); 8-145 (Gautham); 9-146 (Sunil).

Bowling: BN Bharath 2.4-0-19-2; Ronit More 3-0-13-2; Udit Patel 2-0-28-0; Mithrakantha Yadav 4-1-29-4; Syed Khaja Moinuddin 2-0-23-0; Karun Nair 4-0-33-1.

Mangalore United won by 39 runs