Mangalore United storm into KPL finals

Bangalore - Mangalore United beat Davanagere Diamonds by 44 runs in the first semi final match held at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore to book a berth in the finals of the Karnataka Premiere League (KPL) T20 tournament.

Mangalore United were asked to bat first by Davanagere Diamonmds skipper Sunil Joshi after winning the toss. On what looked like a fine batting track, Mangalore United made the most of the conditions with openers Baharat Chipli and skipper Rohit Sabarwal sharing a century partnership stand. Due to some exquisite batting from Mang U batsmen and poor fielding from Davanagere Diamonds, Mangalore were able to post a total of 201 at the loss of three wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Chasing the target, Davanagere Diamonds started off well initially by maintaining the required run rate but fell apart later on as they lost wickets at regular intervals. They were bundled out for 157. U Patel and M Akeel took 2 wickets each. Mangalore United skipper Rohit Sabarwal was awarded the Man of the Match award for his breath taking 78 at the top of the innings. Baharat Chipli scored 70 while Jonathan contributed with a cameo of 25.

Mangalore will now face the winner of the second semi final between Provident Bangalore and Malnad Gladiators. The final will be played at 7:30 pm in the evening. The semi finals as well as the finals were pre-poned by KPL authorities due to announcement of Ayodhya verdict on Thursday.

source: CDNetwork