Hubballi, Sep 21: Bellary Tuskers suffered their 3rd consecutive loss when Mysuru Warriors beat them by 9 runs in a rain-truncated 5th edition of Karnataka Premier League (KPL) Twenty20 tournament here at the KSCA Stadium in Rajnagar on Wednesday evening (September 21).

Bellary, chasing 158 in 17 overs for a possible win, were on track almost right through their reply. But the constant loss of wickets at inopportune moments cost them the match.

Opener Rohan Kadam was in good touch and made a punishing 61 (40b, 1x6, 9x4). He and KB Pawan (14) got the team off to a good start by adding 41 runs in 4.4 overs before the in-form Pawan fell. CA Karthik (30; 17b, 3x6) too used the long handle but it was not sufficient to see the team across the line.

Mysuru bowlers stuck to their lines and backed by good fielding pulled off an excellent win.

Earlier, the letting up of rains late afternoon and the commencement of the evening match came as a huge relief after the first match went down as a no-result owing to the rains.

Pandey, fresh from leading India A on their tour of Australia got stuck into the Bellary bowling quite early in his innings. He was let off by Rohan ut did not allow that to slow him down.

In the company of R Jonathan (30; 14b, 3x6), Pandey (52; 36b, 2x6, 2x4) added 54 runs in 31 balls to keep the pressure on the rivals who had opted to bowl first.

Tuskers had lost both their opening matches and thus this third game was vital for their confidence. But the Mysuru opening batsmen Arjun Hoysala (46; 35b, 7x4) and Rajoo Bhatkal (16; 11b) got off to a cracking start before Bhatkal ran himself out.

Pandey and Jonathan then stepped on the gas on a pitch where the ball was coming on to the bat and set too stiff a target for Bellary.

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Brief scores

Mysuru Warriors: 157/5 in 17 overs (Manish Pandey 52, Arjun Hoysala 46, R Jonathan 30, Prateek Jain 2/33) beat Bellary Tuskers: 148/6 in 17 overs (Rohan Kadam 61, CA Karthik 30, Gowtham K 2/26, Koushik V 2/26) by 9 runs.

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