KPL 2018: Vyshak, Verma take Mysuru Warriors to win

Opening the bowling for Mysuru Warriors, Vyshak Vijaykumar had bowled two overs for 12 runs when his captain J Suchith took him off the attack, keeping him for the final overs. And what a move that turned out to be for not only did Vyshak concede a mere 8 runs totally from the 18th and 20th overs of the Ballari Tuskers innings, he also bagged four wickets in that spell to completely derail the batting at the KSCA Rajnagar Stadium here today.

Vyshak’s telling spell (4-0-20-0) kept Ballari, 119/3 at the end of the 15th over, down to a modest 145 for 8 and the Mysuru batsmen, led by veteran Amit Verma (59, 46b, 7x4, 2x6), ensured that the effort with the ball wasn’t wasted. The target was reached with seven balls and seven wickets to spare allowing Mysuru to start off their Karbonn Smartphones Karnataka Premier League Powered by Lakshmi Vilas Bank campaign with a win.

Needing to score at 7.26 an over, the Mysuru chase was masterminded by the experienced duo of opener Rajoo Bhatkal and Verma. The Ballari second wicket pair of Rohan Kadam and Devdutt Paddikkal had earlier posted a superb 92-run stand from 60 balls but it was the 91-run (66 balls) one by Mysuru’s own second wicket pair that eventually won out. Both Verma, dropped on 9 off medium pacer T Pradeep, and Bhatkal (48, 38b, 4x4, 2x6), ensured that they were always well ahead of the asking rate, thus making it easier for the batsmen to follow. Left-arm spinner Abrar Kazi got them both but the Warriors had enough depth to pull through.

Earlier, asked to bat first by Suchith, Ballari owed it to their two left-handed batsmen. The partnership between Kadam (59, 43b, 6x4, 3x6) and Padikkal (60, 42b, 7x4, 3x6) was frustrating for the Mysuru bowlers in more ways than one. While both stood tall at the crease, Kadam, for most part of his knock, was dominant on the off-side even as Padikkal, recently back from a India Under-19 tour of Sri Lanka, was good on the on and off.

When Kadam fell, bowled by Suchith, Ballari, at 117 for 2 in the 15th over, were all set to kick on. That’s when the wickets started to tumble, starting with the run out of Abhinav Manohar and Padikkal’s skier to Amit Verma off Vyshak. From hereon, with ball and bat, it was all Mysuru.

Brief scores: Ballari Tuskers: 145/8 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 59, Devdutt Padikkal 60; Vyshak Vijaykumar 4-20, J Suchith 2-20) vs Mysuru Warriors 147/3 in 18.5 overs: (Rajoo Bhatkal 48, Amit Verma 59; Abrar Kazi 2-20).