Match No 13: Bijapur Bulls vs Malnad Gladiators at Bangalore on 21.09.10: Malnad Gladiators won by five wickets

Put into bat Bijapur Bulls totalled 130 for 8 thanks to a plucky knock of 47 by wicket keeper batsman DT Patil. He enjoyed four reprieves. KC Avinash, K Gowtham, Ganesh Satish and K Shashindra were the errant fieldsmen. G Dhiman and DT Patil added 40 runs for the second wicket after MR Beerla left the crease at the team score of 16. Wickets fell at regular intervals and there were no substantial partnerships in Bijapur’s innings. Ganesh Satish captained his side well, rung bowling changes at the right time and restricted Bijapur Bulls to its total of 131. Despite the shoddy fielding as they dropped four catches, their ground fielding was good and never allowed to Bijapur batsmen to go beyond proportions. DV Anish {15}, J Shetty {10} and RB Kane {13} were the other batsmen who reached double figures apart from G Dhiman {29} and DT Patil {47}.

G Dhiman’s 29 came in 34 balls in a stay of 47 minutes and contained 3 fours. DT Patil was at the crease for 55 minutes for his 47 which came in 40 balls and contained five fours and a six.

K Gowtham was the most successful bowler for Gladiators with a bag of 3 for 25. Lanky Sanjay Kumar was a good foil to him with 2 for 28.

Gladiators in their chase lost its openers early. Shashindra was the first to leavea at 7 and Ganesh Satish left at 24. Shashindra scored 4 and Ganesh Satish made 3.

KC Avinash forged four match winning partnerships – 33 runs for the third wicket with KR Kapoor, 32 runs for the fourth wicket with Raju Bhatkal, 24 runs for the fifth wicket with N Hegde and 21 runs in an unfinished stand for the fifth wicket with K Gowtham – and ensured his team win the game by five wickets.

KC Avinash scored 45 not out in 83 minutes of 46 balls. His essay contained five boundaries. He was let off by DV Aneesh when he was on 22 which proved very dear to Bijapur team. In the later stages of the game, he was troubled by cramps and was allowed a substitute runner. He did not lose his composure and steadied his team to a facile five wickets victory. ST Binny with 2 for 27 was amongst the wickets for Bijapur Team

Summarised Scores : Bijapur Bulls 130 for 8 in 20.0 overs {DT Patil 47, G Dhiman 29, K Gowtham 3 for 25} lost to Malnad Gladiators 134 for 5 in 19.2 overs {KC Avinash 45 not out, ST Binny 2 for 27} by five wickets