Hubli Tigers prevail over Rockstars

Leg-break bowler Dikshanshu Negi's 4 for 9 and fifties from opening batsman KB Pawan (55) and No. 3 Kunal Kapoor (52) paved the way for Hubli Tigers' 32-run win over the Rockstars in the Karbonn Smart KPL 2015, Match 4.

The Rockstars showed a light semblance of a fight when opening batsman Rajeev hammered three fours and an equal number of sixes in his 23-ball 39. Other than him C Raghu and Madan Mohan gave the good evening crowd something to remember by when they used the long handle. The two not only entertained the crowd, but also ensured their team did not finish with too little on the board through their 55-run unbroken partnership for the seventh wicket. Otherwise wickets fell at regular intervals as spinner Dikshanshu Negi wove his magic to claim a stunning four for nine from his four overs.

Put in to bat, the Tigers lost opener Mohammad Taha cheaply when the batsman dragged one from former India pacer David Johnson onto his stumps. For the next 9.4 overs, Pawan and Kapoor held sway and made merry as they found the Rockstars attack to their liking, knitting together 81 runs for the second wicket. The duo matched each other stroke for stroke until Kapoor broke away and played some lovely inside out shots to regale the crowd and bring up his 50.

As the pair looked set to help their team post a huge total, the Rockstars struck. The Tigers lost three quick wickets, that of Kunal, Kranthi Kumar and Pawan, and the run rate dipped. However Dishanshu Negi (18) and Tigers skipper Sreenath Aravind (17*) ensured the team crossed the 150 mark.

Negi claimed the man of the match award, a cheque for Rupees ten thousand for his four for 9 and 17-ball 18. After receiving his award, the leggie said, "It is a good start winning the first match and we hope to do well in the other matches as well."

Rockstars skipper Kiccha Sudeep felt, "We did not practice enough, but I think we did well today. We will put our efforts into making a match of our other contests in the tournament."

Brief Scores: Hubli Tigers 154/5 (KB Pawan 55, Kunal Kapoor 52; Sunil Joshi 1/16) beat Rockstars 122/6 (Rajeev H 39, Madan Mohan 31*; Dikshanshu Negi 4/9) by 32 runs.