Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 3 : KVN Bangalore Strikers resurrected their campaign with a much-needed narrow six-run win against Tiigers of Kolkata to finally open their account in the second edition of the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), season 2 at the Dadoji Kondadev Stadium here on Sunday, as per ISPL press release.
Earlier in the day, Falcon Risers Hyderabad came up with a clinical show to beat Srinagar ke Veer by nine wickets and register their fourth victory in the tournament.
In between the matches, Arunachal Pradesh's singing sensation Rito Riba delivered a mesmerising performance with his soulful melodies resonating with the Sunday crowd.
After winning the toss, Hyderabad rode on a disciplined bowling effort from Parveen Kumar, who ran through the top order with four scalps to restrict Srinagar to a meagre 62 for 8.
Srinagar's total was built mainly around Sagar Ali's 26-ball 30, laced with three mammoth sixes. Barring Sagar, Ganesh Dethe (12) was the only other batter to get to double digits as the Hyderabad bowling attack kept it tight throughout the innings.
The day witnessed some electric fielding from the Hyderabad outfit, and the intensity was such that none of the Srinagar batters managed to score a four throughout the innings. Besides Parveen, Ifran Umair picked a couple of wickets for the Hyderabad side, while Vicky Bhoir and Vishwajit Thakur also chipped in with a wicket apiece.
Mansoor KL, who was tasked with the Tape Ball also proved miserly as he leaked just four runs from his two overs, and to make matters worse, the Srinagar side also failed to capitalise on the 50-50 over, losing four runs to their overall total.
In response, Hyderabad got off to a breezy start with star opener Kisan Satpute leading the charge. Kisan slammed an unbeaten 16-ball 46, powered by a couple of boundaries and five mammoth sixes to almost single-handedly power his side to the winning mark in a mere 5.2 overs.
Sagar Ali raised some hopes for Srinagar when he trapped opener Aakash Jangid lbw for a 9-ball 10, but with Kisan still in the middle, Hyderabad hardly had to break a sweat to register their fourth victory in the tournament.
Batting first, KVN Bangalore Strikers rode on a collective batting effort from Pradeep Patil, Krushna Pawar, Saroj Paramanik and Sanjay Kanojjiya to post a commanding 116/4 in their stipulated 10 overs. While Pradeep top scored with an unbeaten 21-ball 41, laced with six fours and a six, Krushna and Sanjay provided the late fireworks with scores of 28 not out and 14, respectively to propel Bangalore to the huge score. Opening the innings, Saroj set the tempo with a 7-ball 20, powered by three massive sixes.
In reply, Sarfraz Khan led Kolkata's hunt with a whirlwind 11-ball 44, containing six sixes and a boundary before Prathamesh Thakre's 7-ball 23, and Bhavesh Pawar's 7-ball 16 almost took the defending champions near the winning line, before Pritpal Singh's three-wicket burst pulled them back in the last-ball thriller.
With Kolkata needing six off the final ball to take the match to a Superover finish, Pritpal held his nerves to take a smart return catch off Shivam Kumar, to help his side finally open their account in the ISPL.
On Monday, Majhi Mumbai will face Tiigers of Kolkata in the first match, while Srinagar ke Veer will lock horns with KVN Bangalore Strikers in the second contest.