Hubballi: Hubli Tigers registered a two-wicket win over Namma Shivamogga in the inaugural fifth edition KPL tournament held at the KSCA Rajnagar stadium, Hubbali, here on Saturday morning, September 17.
After put into bat, Namma Shivamogga, on an overcast morning on a pitch that offered some assistance to the bowlers, managed to score 129 runs in 20 overs before losing six wickets. The batsmen started flexing muscles soon after they got their eye in. Kirmani hit the ground running with some handsome strokes, but Nikin Jose (37) holed out to long-off, where Stallin Hoover took a nice catch diving forward. His dismissal seemed to open the flood-gates for Shivamogga, who lost their next five wickets for a mere 46 runs. Stuart Binny (11), Pawan Deshpande (1), Zeeshan Ali (2), Siddharth (0) and David Mathias (5), all fell cheaply trying to up the ante. For Hubli, Sreenath Arvind was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 16 from his four overs.
In reply, the Hubli Tigers got off to a flying start with both Taha and Abhishek Reddy making full use of the fielding restrictions, though both batsmen departed for 13 and 23 respectively, after playing some entertaining shots. Left-arm orthodox spinner, A Kazi turned out to be Shivamogga’s lynchpin in the bowling department, picking up three for 23, and was complemented well by right arm off-spinner, Zeeshan Ali, who bagged one wicket for 21 runs.
Even though the Tigers middle-order showed vulnerability against spin, a heady mix of exuberance and maturity from Vinu Prasad (22) and Kranthi Kumar (7), steered the Tigers home with an over to spare.
S. Arvind was adjudged the Man of the Match for his match-winning spell of 4-1-16-3.
Scorecard
Namma Shivamogga:
Sadiq Kirmani b Arvind 69 (63b, 6×4 2×6); Nikin Jose c Hoover b Negi 37 (38b); Stuart Binny c †Bharath b Hoover 11(10b); Pavan Deshpande C Bharath K N B Sreenath Arvind 1(3b); Zeeshanali C Abhishek Reddy B Stallin 2(3b); Siddharth C Kunal Kapoor B Sreenath Arvind 0 (1b); David Mathias Not Out 5(2b)
Extras – 4 ( B 0, Lb 3, W 1, Nb 0)
Total (for 6 wickets in 20 overs) – 129
Fall of Wickets: 1 – 83(Nikin Jose S J, 12.6 Ov), 2 – 104 (Stuart Binny, 16.2 Ov), 3 – 110(Pavan Deshpande, 17.2 Ov), 4 – 121(Zeeshanali, 18.5 Ov), 5 – 123(Siddharth, 19.2 Ov), 6 – 129(Sadiq Kirmani, 19.6 Ov)
Bowling: S Arvind 4-1-15-3; S Hoover 4-0-25-2; Nv Prasad 4-0-25-0; Kranthi Kumar 2 -0 -21-0; S Kaushik 4 -0 -21-0; D Negi 2 -0-18-1
Hubli Tigers:
Mohammed Taha b A Kazi 23 (13b); Abhishek Reddy run out (Nikin Jose) 13 (13b); Stallin Hoover b Shreyas Gopal 0 (2b); KR Kapoor b Kazi 35 (30b); D Negi b Appanna 16 (9); KN Bharath run out (Binny) 15 (20b); CJ William lbw b Kazi 0 (1); S Aravind c Deshpande b Zeeshan Ali (0) 1; Kranthi Kumar not out 4 (7); NV Prasad not out 22 (19)
Extras – Extras 5 (b 1, lb 2, w 1, nb 1)
Total (for 8 wickets in 19 overs) – 133/8
Fall of wickets: 1-34 (Reddy, 3.4 ov), 2-34 (Hoover, 3.6 ov), 3-40 (Mohammed Taha, 4.4 ov), 4-67 (Negi, 7.1 ov), 5-106 (Kapoor, 13.5 ov), 6-106 (William, 13.6 ov), 7-107 (Aravind, 14.2 ov), 8-107 (Bharath, 14.4 ov).
Bowling: STR Binny 2-0- 14-0; DK Mathias 1-0-13-0; KP Appanna 4-0-29-1; S Gopal 4 -1-30-1; AA Kazi 4-0-23-3; S Zeeshan Ali 4-0-21-1
Result: Hubli Tigers won by 2 wickets
