KPL 2017: All-round Stuart Binny once again stars in Belagavi win

Stuart Binny was once again the star of the show, his all-round display helping Belagavi Panthers to a 30-run victory over Mysuru Warriors in the second match at the S.D.N.R Wadiyar ground in Mysuru on Saturday (9 September) in the Karbonn Smartphones Karnataka Premier League 2017, powered by Cycle Pure Agarbathies.

Binny’s unbeaten 28-ball 52 helped Belagavi post 180 for 5 after being put in to bat. Thereafter, all of Binny, Shubang Hegde and Darshan Machaiah returned two wickets apiece as Mysuru were restricted to 150 for 8 in their 20 overs, despite KC Avinash’s valiant 31-ball 47.

The win took Belagavi to second spot in the points table.

Belagavi rode on regular partnerships, despite the early wicket of Stalin Hoover (2). Shashindra and BR Sharath then got together to add a quick 39, with both batsmen picking on V Vyshak to enter double figures. The stand was broken when J Suchith deceived Sharath (14), the batsman attempting a slog-sweep only to miss the ball completely and be trapped in front.

In came Manish Pandey, fresh after scoring a half-century in the Twenty20 International against Sri Lanka. He wasted no time playing his shots, picking consecutive fours off the unpredictable Shivil Kaushik.

Mysuru were handed an unexpected lifeline when Shashindra, having scored a steady 23-ball 19, retired hurt. That brought Binny to the middle, and thereafter, the Mysuru bowlers were made to chase leather as Binny picked up from where he left off against Bengaluru Blasters on Friday.

For a while, Binny and Pandey, two of the premier players in the state, worked in tandem, putting on a quick 21. However, the stand was broken when Pandey’s pull off Kaushik ended up with the man at deep midwicket. His 17-ball 25 had accelerated the scoring, and it was something the likes of S Rakshith and Kishore Kamat built on. Rakshith targeted Kaushik, pummelling three consecutive boundaries off the bowler, including a soaring six over long-on.

Rakshith was dismissed by NP Bhareth in the next over for a 17-ball 36, but Kamat came in and continued the good work, finding the fence a couple of times off SL Akshay. All the while, Binny did what he does best, finding the fence off the bad deliveries and picking the singles off the good ones. He was in his 30s when rain forced the players off the field midway through the 19th over, but play resumed shortly.

Binny shifted gears, finding the fence thrice in the final over off Akshay, including a six over extra cover. He brought up his half-century off just 27 balls, his second in as many days, as Belagavi ensured a daunting target was set.

Mysuru started their chase well enough despite losing Arjun Hoysala to Binny early on. Hoysala had helped the side get off to quick starts previously in the tournament, but Mysuru were unfazed by his loss. Instead, Avinash and Shreyas Gopal went about rebuilding the innings, taking special care to put away the loose deliveries. Avinash ensured there was a boundary almost every over, but it was in the tenth over that he really turned it on with four consecutive boundaries off Stalin Hoover, the first of which was a tonk for six over mid-wicket. The over yielded 20 runs.

However, in his attempts to accelerate, Avinash was dismissed in the next over by Hegde, three runs short of a half-century. That prompted a slide that eventually cost Mysuru dearly. Gopal (25) was dismissed in Hegde’s next over, before Binny returned to scalp Suneel Raju (15). SP Manjunath attempted to free his arms and revive the innings, but wickets fell all around him, Machaiah running through the tail as Mysuru fell well short.

Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers 180 for 5 in 20 overs (Stuart Binny 52*; S Rakshith 26; NP Bhareth 1-31) beat Mysuru Warriors 150 for 8 in 20 overs (KC Avinash 47; Shreyas Gopal 25; Stuart Binny 2-23, Shubang Hegde 2-32) by 30 runs.

Man of the Match: Stuart Binny (Belagavi Panthers)