KPL: Hoover, Gowtham push Belagavi Panthers to top spot

Mysuru: Belagavi Panthers got one over the defending champion, Ballari Tuskers, in the Karnataka Premier League 2017 on Tuesday, securing a 25-run victory. Stalin Hoover scored a 43-ball 62 to help set Ballari a target of 155 before K Gowtham’s 4 for 23 helped restrict them to 129 for 9 at the S.D.N.R Wadiyar ground in Mysuru – the final match at the venue in this edition of the tournament.

The victory helped Belagavi jump past Hubli Tigers to the top of the table with a superior net run-rate.

Put in, Belagavi got off to a blistering start thanks to Hoover’s belligerence. He was dropped on 11 off Amit Verma, and it proved costly. Hoover just carried on, notching up his half-century off just 32 balls with a six off Anil IG in the ninth over.

Manish Pandey, at the other end, scored an adventurous 12-ball 24 before holing out to Anil. Two balls later, Hoover holed out as well, having scored a fine 43-ball 62. Belagavi were bowled out for 154, with Prateek Jain running through the tail to return 3 for 29.

The total didn’t seem too threatening at the outset, but Belagavi were excellent with the ball. Ballari took things slow, knowing the target wasn’t too daunting. Unfortunately for them, Belagavi dismissed their batsmen before they could do significant damage. All the while, Pawan kept the scoreboard ticking, although not as fast as he would have liked. It just wasn’t Ballari’s day, as Pawan’s unbeaten 58-ball 64 went in vain with wickets tumbling at the other end.

Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers: 154 all out in 19.4 overs (Stalin Hoover 62; Prateek Jain 3/29, Amit Verma 2/19) bt Ballari Tuskers: 129/9 in 20 overs (KB Pawan 64 n.o.; K Gowtham 4/23) by 25 runs.