K. Gowtham produced the performance of a lifetime at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Friday. First, he smashed the fastest hundred in the KPL, storming to a ton off 39 balls. He finished unbeaten on 134 (54b, 7x4, 13x6), the highest individual score in the tournament’s history. As if that was not enough, Gowtham put on another record-breaking show with the ball, taking eight for 15 from his four overs — the best-bowling figures in T20 cricket, eclipsing Colin Ackermann’s seven for 18, a record that had been set at the Vitality Blast in England only this month. Set a mammoth 204 for victory in 17 overs after rain interrupted play, Shivamogga was bowled out for 133.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime match,” Gowtham said at the presentation ceremony. “I don’t think I did (expect the eight-for); nor did anyone else.” Asked if he enjoyed his century or his eight-for more, Gowtham quipped: “I enjoyed my girlfriend smiling.”
Monstrous hitting
Promoted up to No. 3, Gowtham shredded the Shivamogga attack. He was put down on a couple of occasions, but that should not detract from the 30-year-old’s effort, with his monstrous hitting ability on full display. The all-rounder raised his half-century off 24 balls. From there, he needed only 15 more deliveries to storm to his hundred. S.P. Manjunath bore the brunt of that fury as Gowtham smashed four consecutive sixes off him in the 12th over.
Mayank Agarwal had previously held both the KPL batting records Gowtham broke on the night, with a top score of 119 and a hundred off 45 balls, both coming in 2016.
Big win
Earlier, Manish Pandey made an unbeaten 30-ball-59 as Belagavi Panthers crushed Bengaluru Blasters by eight wickets. Batting first, Bengaluru had been restricted to 110 for eight, M.B. Darshan taking three for 27. With Pandey in full flow, Belagavi then made a mockery of the target, cruising home with 8.1 overs to spare to notch up its first win this season.
With India-A’s ODI series against South Africa-A scheduled to begin in Thiruvananthapuram on August 29, Pandey’s services will be available to Belagavi for its last two league games but no longer.
The scores: Bengaluru Blasters 110 for eight in 20 overs (B.R. Sharath 32, R. Jonathan 29, M.B. Darshan three for 27, Ritesh Bhatkal two for seven, Zahoor Farooqui two for 23) lost to Belagavi Panthers 115 for two in 11.5 overs (Manish Pandey 58 n.o.).
Ballari Tuskers 203 for three in 17 overs (K. Gowtham 134 n.o., Abhishek Reddy 34) bt Shivamogga Lions 133 in 16.3 overs (Akshay Ballal 41, Pavan Deshpande 45, K. Gowtham 8 for 15). (match reduced to 17 overs due to rain).
