Karnataka edge UP for ninth straight win

Karnataka bowlers, led by right-arm pacer medium pacer V Koushik (3/22), produced a collective effort to pull off a 10-run victory over Uttar Pradesh in their second Super League game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here at the Holkar Stadium on Saturday.

A stop-start innings from Karnataka saw them post 149/6 in 20 overs after being put into bat. Rohan Kadam (35) once again top scored while Mayank Agarwal (33), Karun Nair (21) and Manish Pandey (22) squandered starts. All-rounder Manoj Bhandage played a handy 19-ball 25, including three fours, towards the end.

While Koushik, who picked up two wickets in the final over, was Karnataka's best bowler, veteran R Vinay Kumar (2/24) and J Suchith (2/19) struck wickets at crucial junctures. Karnataka, with two straight wins, are on top with eight points. They take on defending champions Delhi on Sunday.

Uttar Pradesh, on the back of a 60-run second wicket stand between skipper Aksh Deep Nath (46) and Upendra Yadav (42), got off to a steady start before Suchith's two-wicket burst got Karnataka back in the game. The left-arm spinner dismissed Aksh Deep and Rinku Singh (0)in the 14th over to reduce Uttar Pradesh to 92/3.

Karnataka kept fighting but Upendra Yadav carried Uttar Pradesh's hopes. Down to 22 from the final two overs, Vinay brought his experience into play. The right-arm pacer bagged two wickets, including the important one of Upendra and gave away just eight runs.

The young Koushik, given the task of defending 14 in the final over, bowled brilliantly picking two wickets and giving away just three runs.

Mumbai win

Mumbai drubbed Delhi by eight wickets in their second game after they had suffered a defeat in their lung-opener against Karnataka.

Put into bat at the Emerald Heights International School Ground, Mumbai bowlers, led by medium-pacer Tushar Deshpande (4/19) put out a disciplined performance to restrict Delhi to 144/7 in their allotted 20 overs.

Unbeaten knocks from Shreyas Iyer (53) and Suryakumar Yadav then helped Mumbai to the target in 19 overs.

In another game, Maharashtra defeated Bengal by seven wickets. D J Muthuswamy (3/15) impressed with the ball while Rahul Tripathi (60 n.o.) made a mark with the bat for Maharashtra.

SCORE BOARD

KARNATAKA: Rohan Kadam c & b Saurabh Kumar 35, BR Sharath c Mohsin b Dayal 0, Mayank Agarwal c Rajpoot b Choudhary 33, Karun Nair (run out) 21, Manish Pandey c Rinku b Rajpoot 22, MS Bhandage (run out) 25, J Suchith (not out) 1. Extras (W-4, B-1, LB-7) 12. Total (for 6 wkts, 20 overs) 149.

Fall of wickets: 1-6, 2-66, 3-88, 4-96, 5-139, 6-149.

Bowling: Ankit Rajpoot 4-0-32-1, Yash Dayal 4-0-27-1, Mohsin Khan 4-0-24-0, Saurabh Kumar 4-0-32-1, Ankit Choudhary 4-0-26-1.

UTTAR PRADESH: Akshdeep Nath c Agarwal b Suchith 46, Samarth Singh c Pandey b Prasidh 15, Upendra Yadav c Nair b Vinay 42, Rinku Singh c Sharath b Suchith 0, Priyam Garg c Prasidh b Koushik 16, Shubham Chaubey c Pandey b Vinay 7, Saurabh Kumar lbw Koushik 7, Mohsin Khan (not out) 1, Ankit Choudhary b Koushik 1, Ankit Rajpoot (not out) 1. Extras (LB-3) 3. Total (for 8 wkts, 20 overs) 139.

Fall of wickets: 1-31, 2-91, 3-92, 4-116, 5-129, 6-129, 7-136, 8-138.

Bowling: R Vinay Kumar 3-0-24-2, M Prasidh Krishna 3-0-28-1, V Koushik 4-0-22-3, Manoj Bhandage 3-0-23-0, J Suchith 3-0-19-2, KC Cariappa 4-0-20-0.

Other brief scores: At Emerald Heights International School Ground: Delhi: 144/7 in 20 overs (Dhruv Shorey 33, Lalit Yadav 33; Tushar Deshpande 4-19) lt to Mumbai: 148/2 in 19 overs (Shreyas Iyer 53 not out, Surya Kumar Yadav 42 not out).

Mumbai: 4 points; Delhi: 0.

Bengal: 138/7 in 20 overs (Shahbaaz Ahmad 60 not out, Manoj Tiwary 41; D J Muthuswamy 3-15, Satyajeet Bachhav 2-34) lt to Maharashtra: 139/3 in 17.1 overs (Rahul Tripathi 60 not out, Rohit Motwani 36; Akash Deep 2-21).

Maharashtra: 4; Bengal: 0.

Railways: 135/8 in 20 overs (Pratham Singh 41, Prashant Awasti 25; Rahul Shukla 2-18) lt to Jharkhand: 136/5 in 19 overs (Virat Singh 50 n.o., Anand Singh 53; Harsh Tyagi 2-25).

Jharkhand: 4; Railways: 0.