Dehradun, Nov 25 – Manipal Tigers beat Bhilwara Kings by 89 runs in a one-sided affair after a brilliant ton by Chadwick Walton followed by a disciplined bowling attack at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium here on Friday.
The Kings could not withstand the challenge of 211/3 posed by the Tigers and ended their invasion at 122/8. Legends League Cricket (LLC), started it’s second leg with the sixth match played on Thursday.
Manipal Tigers, registering two wins in two matches, are sharing the top of the table with Urban Risers Hyderabad while Bhilwara Kings have suffered their second defeat in three matches.
Earlier, Bhilwara Kings won the toss and invited the opposition team to bat which proved fatal for them. Openers – Robin Uthappa and Chadwick Walton maintained their aggression against the bowling attack. Tigers were off to a solid start by scoring 59 runs without losing any wicket at the end of the first powerplay.
Meanwhile, Uthappa (51) completed his half century in 29 balls but his stay was ended by Rahul Sharma in the same over with 87/1 on the board. Later, Jamaica born right-handed batter Walton scored his century, the first of the league with just 52 balls in the 19th over. Dominating the bowlers, both Walton and Masakdaza were vital for a solid partnership of 114 runs before the latter one went injured with his individual score of 37.
In the last over of the innings, new batter Thisara Perera was caught exceptionally by Irfan Patel after scoring six runs. In the same over, Barnwell marked the end of the heroics of Walton when he caught him on his own ball. With Angelo Pereira(3) and Colin de Grandhomme (1) not out, Manipal Tigers posted the league’s highest ever score of 211/3. Chris Barnwell (2/45) emerged as the most successful bowler.
Chasing down the daunting ask of 212, Bhilwara Kings top order was off to a disappointing start when last match’s hero Lendl Simmons (0) along with Solomon Mayer (3) and top scorer Tillakaratne Dilshan (26) collapsed at the score of 36 in the first powerplay.
Parvinder Awana continued his dominance on crease and scalped his second by bowled out Robin Bist (9) with 43/4 onboard. Compensating the loss at their best, Yusuf Pathan and Chris Barnwell paired for 34 runs partnership before the.
Imran Khan was brought into the attack. Trinidadian not only separated the duo but proved vital by wrapping up the middle order – Yusuf Pathan (16), Chris Barnwell 16) and Irfan Pathan (5) to reduce the side at 84/7.
Skipper Harbhajan Singh took the sole wicket in form Jessel Keria (2). With unbeaten Iqbal Abdullah (10) a