Bangalore Brigadiers, having already secured a semifinal berth, warmed up nicely for the knock-out phase with Robin Uthappa’s unbeaten 69 scripting an eight-wicket victory over Shamanur Davangere Diamonds in a Mantri Karnataka Premier League match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Monday evening.
Both teams finished their league engagements of seven matches each with Brigadiers topping the table with 12 points and Diamonds (4) languishing at the bottom with Mangalore United (4). Chasing Diamonds’ 118 for five in 20 overs, Brigadiers scored 121 for two in 13.4 overs.
Changing gears
After openers C.B. Karthik and Nishant Shekhawat (28) fell to S.T. Sharath, Uthappa (69 n.o., 32b, 6x4, 4x6) switched gears while perhaps keeping an eye on the cloudy sky. He swatted two fours off Sharath and with skipper Deepak Chougule watching from the non-striker’s end, hoisted seamer Ajay Singh Chauhan for a six over long-off to finish the match in style.
Earlier, Diamonds struggled for a launch-pad as its batsmen struggled to redeem themselves though M. Nidish’s unbeaten 54 (48b, 1x4, 3x6) and his 50-run fifth-wicket partnership with Pawan Deshpande (20) helped his team hobble past the 100-mark.
After seamer David Mathias (two for 25) and left-arm spinner Vinu Prasad (one for 12) had reduced the side to 31 for three and with Sunil Raju getting run-out, Nidish and Deshpande buckled down and tried to revive the innings.
Nidish swatted three sixes later in the innings, while seamers Dilip Sagar and Rajesh Singh struggled.
A hooked six off Rajesh was the pick as the seamer desperately tried to bounce Nidish.
The semifinals will be held on Tuesday.
The scores: Shamanur Davangere Diamonds 118 for five in 20 overs (M. Nidish 54 n.o.) lost to Bangalore Brigadiers 121 for two in 13.4 overs (R. Uthappa 69 n.o.).
