Pavan Deshpande’s half-century and a spirited bowling display helped Shivamogga Lions record their second victory in a KPL encounter at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here yesterday.

The Lions, who posted a facile six-wicket win over Hubli Tigers on Saturday, were not quite as clinical this time and still managed a 14-run win over Mysuru Warriors in the day’s first game.

Deshpande’s 42-ball 53 guided Lions to 166 for 7 in 20 overs before the bowlers, led by T. Pradeep (3/22) and H.S. Sharath (3/36), reduced the Warriors to 152 all out in 19.2 overs. K.V. Siddharth was the lone fighter for the Warriors, scoring 77 runs from 54 balls.

Amit Verma, the Warriors skipper, won the toss and opted to bowl under gloomy skies. Nihal Ullal, who scored an unbeaten 88 from 60 balls in Lions’ win on Saturday, once again sent the bowlers on a leather hunt. His dismissal for 28, followed by Arjun Hoysala’s demise for the same score, meant the Lions were under some pressure.

Deshpande, the left-hander who was dropped on 29 by K.V. Siddharth, calmed the nerves with a calculated assault, carrying them to 100 in 10.4 overs.

Mithun, the Lions’ skipper, picked up the wicket of Dega Nischal in the opening ball of the innings. Thereafter, it was one-way traffic for the most part. Sharath bagged the crucial wickets of J. Suchith, Shoaib Manager and Aniruddha Joshi (26), and Mithun added Amit to his tally. Pradeep was especially good bowling at the fag end of the innings. Still, Siddharth kept the Warriors in the hunt with some stunning blows. But with 19 needed in the final over, he wasn’t able to see them through.

Rain plays spoilsport

Much to Bengaluru Blasters’ ire, their second game in the KPL too was rain affected, and they shared points with Bijapur Bulls after their match was adjudged a tie. Unlike in their season opener against Mysuru Warriors where 13 overs of Warriors’ innings was completed before the game was abandoned, this contest saw the Bulls score 133 for 6 in 20 overs.

Blasters’ response stuttered to 29 for 1 in exactly 5 overs when it began (9.32 pm) to rain and ensued until the umpires decided, at 10.44 pm, to call it off. As it turned out, the V. Jayadevan (VJD) par score was 29 for 1.

Suneel Raju, who put down B.R. Sharath (22 not out) off S.L. Akshay in the third over, will now realise the gravity of a dropped catch.

Earlier, Jonathan Rongsen relied on his spinners to keep the Bulls down to a small total. Though the pitch was sticky, Bharath Chipli, the Bulls skipper, paved the way for a big score with a flashy 39, but Rohan Raju and Bharath Devaraj broke Bulls’ back.
Rohan finished with 2 for 26 and Devaraj — with a unique action which the crowd rallied behind — picked up only one wicket but conceded a mere 22 runs in four overs of leg-spin.

Anand Doddamni, the left-arm spinner, was also brilliant, conceding just 15 runs for a wicket in his quota. If it wasn’t for Swapnil Yelave’s unbeaten 31 and Suneel Raju’s 15, the Bulls would have fared worse.

RESUTLS

Shivamogga Lions: 166/7 in 20 overs beat Mysuru Warriors: 152/10 in 19.2 overs; Bijapur Bulls: 133/6 in 20 overs tied with (via VJD Method) Bengaluru Blasters: 29/1 in 5 overs.