KPL 2015 Match 19: Bijapur Bulls v Rockstars, Review

KPL 2015 Match 19: Bijapur Bulls v Rockstars, Review: Mysuru, Sept 13: Aided by a scintillating22-ball unbeaten 69 that was studded with six sixes and as many fours by skipper Balachander Akhil, Bijapur Bulls defeated the Rockstars by 97 runs to become the second team to be assured of a place in the qualifiers of the Karbonn Smart KPL 2015. The total enabled them top the points table with a superior net run rate.

In the first match of the day, the Rockstars found the Bulls too wild to handle. If the top order batsmen did their bit to keep the Rockstars busy on the field, Akhil sent them on a retrieving spree.

Chasing the Bulls’ huge 197, the Rockstarsfound the going difficult from the beginning and lost wickets at regular intervals. All the six bowlers used by Akhil got amongst the wickets and the Rockstars managed to score an exact 100 in reply.

The top four of Bijapur Bulls was led by M Nidesh who scored a pleasing 56 inclusive of four fours and two sixes that had the team cantering to a healthy total.

Once Akhil took guard, the Bijapur innings went into overdrive as the tall veteran hammered the Rockstar bowlers at will.

He basked in the situation and with the crowd begging for more, delivered boundaries after boundaries to swell his team’s total.

“This was a very important game. In this game our focus was on increasing our net run rate and win with 10 wickets in hand. We also wanted to promote a few players and try out different combinations before the qualifiers,” said Akhil.

The Bulls’ total is second to the Panthers’ highest total of 210 in this edition of the League.