Mayank's ton puts Panthers into semifinals

HUBBALLI: Belagavi Panthers bounced back into contention with a morale boosting 39-run win (VJD method, target 177) over Mangalore United in the

Karnataka Premier League

T20 tournament at the

KSCA Rajnagar

stadium here on Thursday.

With this win Panthers assured themselves of a semis berth. In a rain-truncated match, the R Vinay Kumar-led Panthers rode on a sublime 51-ball unbeaten 119 by in-form Mayank Agarwal and Anurag Bajpai's 51 (39b, 5x4, 1x6) to post 175 for 1 in 15 overs. In reply, after a promising start, United ran out of steam and were bowled out for 137 in 14 overs to finish their league engagements placed seventh in the eight-team league.

Tuskers tame Bulls

Earlier, an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 104 runs in 11.2 overs between skipper B Akhil and GS Chiranjeevi helped Bellary Tuskers stun champions

Bijapur Bulls

and enhance their chances of a securing a semifinal berth

With overcast conditions prevailing, Tuskers, who won the toss, had no hesitation in asking Bulls to take first strike. The session went well for the Bulls as long as opener R Samarth (38, 28b, 2x6, 3x4) was at the wicket. But his departure and that of Robin Uthappa (29) was soon followed by a spell of heavy rain. As a result the contest was revised to 17 overs-a-side. Bulls lost quick wickets in search of runs and were contained to 125/9.

Chasing a target of 130 (VJD method), Tuskers were 8 for three and soon 29 for four before Akhil (61 n.o; 38b, 3x6, 5x4) and Chiranjeevi (42 n.o; 31b, 5x4) came to their rescue. Man of the match Akhil showed maturity and experience by controlling the innings. He kept his partner going to make light of the task. A couple of dropped catches also helped their cause.

Brief scores: Belagavi Panthers 175/1 in 15 overs (Mayank Agarwal 119, Anurag Bajpai 51) bt Mangalore United: 137 allout in 14 overs (M Vishwanathan M 46, Karun Nair 26, Ronit More 35, Abhishek Sakuja 3-16, Vinay Kumar 2-13, Avishek Sinha 2-29, Akshay CK 3-2). Bijapur Bulls: 125/9 in 17 overs (R Samarth 38, Robin Uthappa 29; Amit Verma 3-22, Prateek Jain 2-30) lost to Bellary Tuskers: 133/4 in 15.5 overs (B Akhil 61 n.o., GS Chiranjeevi 42 n.o.; Abhimanyu Mithun 2-16) by 6 wickets.

On Friday: Mysuru Warriors vs Namma Shivamogga (1:30pm); Hubli Tigers vs Rockstars (5:30pm). Live on Sony ESPN