Match No 01 – Belagavi Panthers vs Mangalore United at Hubli on 03.09.15 – Belgavi Panthers won by six wickets

Belgavi Panthers romped home comfortably in the first game of KPL 2015 at Hubli. Fielding first after winning the toss, it restricted the opponents Mangalore United to 141 for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Mangalore United skipper RK Sabharwal was dismissed for a duck  in the first over. It lost its second wicket at 13. These two early setbacks gave an advantage to the opponents. KK Nair scored 38 in 27 balls and departed at 58. The score board read 58 for 3 in 10.2 overs when KK Nair was dismissed. RP Kadam was dismissed run out for 3 and the score card read a none-too-impressive 68 for 4. KC Avinash and Arsdeep Singh Brar added 76 runs in an unfinished partnership for the fifth wicket which ensured Mangalore United reach a total of 141 for 5. KC Avinash scored 50 not out while Brar remained not out on 36. S Hoover was the most successful bower for Belagavi Panthers with a bag of two for 20 in four overs

Batting second Belgavi Panthers made mincemeat of Mangalore United bowlers. Despite losing its first two wickets for 22 runs, Belagavi Panthers romped home by eight wickets through a record third wicket partnership – of 122 runs unfinished partnership between R Vinay Kumar and R Jonathan. R Vinay Kumar was declared Man of the Match for his 64 not out, while R Jonathan remained not out on 62 not out,

Match No – 02 – Mysuru Warriors vs Namma Shivamogga at Hubli on 03.09.15 – Namma Shivamogga won by six wickets

Mysuru Warriors – the last edition Champions – lost its first game in this edition to the new entrant Namma Shivamogga. Mysuru Warriors who were inserted by the opposition stated farily well. Its openers  K Arjun Hoysala and skipper MK Pandey put on 56 runs for the first wicket when skipper departed. It lost K Arjun Hoysala at 95. He made 44 runs. Mysuru Warriors were raiding smoothly with the score card reading 125 for 2 at the end of 15.5 overs. The next ball they lost CM Gautham for 9 and two balls later they lost year another wicket that of MV Manjesh Reddy for 45. The score card now read 125 for 4 in 16.2 overs. They added 35 runs in 22 ball to reach a decent score of 160, it had lost its way during these overs. Losing two wickets at the score of 125 in three balls was not a rosy situation to be in, in this shortest form of game of cricket. The total of 160 proved insufficient and was not a match winning total for the last year champions on this day. SA Khadir was the pick of the bowlers for Namma Shivamogga with a bag of 2 for 21. S Gopal could not pick up a wicket in this game as he returned with figures  of  none for 40.

Namma Shivamogga started the chase in a decent way as its openers put on 42 runs for the first wicket. Each of the five batsmen who came  to the  crease scored 20 plus runs and helped the chase with their contributions. First five batsman scored twenty plus runs in this game to provide the first occasion of first  five batsmen scoring twenties in a KPL game. SH Kirmani {29}, AA Kazi {21}, M Kaunian Abbas {26}, STR Binny {25} and S Gopal {49 not out} were the batsman to score 20 plus runs. S Gopal with his 49 not out with the willow made up for his aberration – none for 40 – with the leather. He was declared Man of the Match for his performance with the willow.

Match Number 03 – Bijapur Bulls vs Bellary Tuskers at Hubli on 04.09.15 – Bijapur Bulls won by 16 runs

Bijapur Bulls posted 125 for 8 after being inserted by the opposition. Though not a match winning total in a normal circumstances in a T20 game, Bijapur Bulls defended the total to win the game by 16 runs. Its spinners – KC Karaippa {3 for 14} and KP Appanna {3 for 17} had a field day after medium pacer VV Kumar made the inroads in the Bellary Tuskers batting line up.

Opening batsman RR Bhatkal {21} and skipper B Akhil {25} were the mainstay for Bijapur Bulls, while Prasid Krishna was the pick of the bowlers {3 for 24} for Bellary Tuskers. Bijapur Bulls had lost its six wickets for 59 runs and contributions from its lower order batsmen B Akhil {25 at number 7}, VV Kumar {14 at number 8} and A Mithun {16 not out at number 9} saw them to a total  of 125 for 8 in 20 overs

Bellary Tuskers lost its wicket at regular intervals and lost half the side for 58 runs. Captain B Chipli was dismissed run out for a first ball duck. Two more batsmen suffered the same ignominy of collecting the first ball duck – CA Karthik and NC Aiyappa. AA Joshi shone amidst the ruins by scoring 30 runs, As many as seven batsmen were dismissed for single digits. Amit Verma scored 26 runs. KC Cariappa {3 for 14} and KP Appanna {3 for 17} were the wreckers-in-chief

Bellary Tuskers’ 109 all out provide the ninth occasion of a team dismissed all out for a total less than 110 runs in KPL and also provides the fifth occasion of a team dismissed all out for a total less than 110 runs while batting second in KPL

Match No 04 – Hubli Tigers vs Rockstars at Hubli on 04.09.15 – Hubli Tigers won by 32 runs

Put into bat first, Hubli Tigers posted a decent total of 154 for 5. KB Pawan {55} and KR Kapoor {52} and their 91 runs partnership for the second wicket were the contributory factors for Hubli Tigers total

Rockstars were mesmerized by D Negi who captured four wickets for nine runs. Opener Rajeev who scored 39 in the first wicket stand of 44 was the first to leave the crease. Rockstars plummeted to 67 for 6 in 13.2 overs. 55 runs unfinished record stand for the seventh wicket between C Raghu and M Mohan ensured Rockstars not getting dismissed all out. Rockstars lost its seventh game in succession. They had lost all the six games in the previous edition.