Manish Pandey, the captain of the Gulbarga Mystics, stood out from the crowd as his fifty before a protracted rain delay paved the way for a victory over the Mysuru Warriors on Sunday.
After the target was changed to 110 in 11 overs, the Warriors still fell short despite Shreyas Gopal's valiant effort of 32 off 16 balls.
Devdutt Padikkal (14) and Rohan Patil (6), the Gulbarga Mystics' elegant openers, struggled to get the Mysore Warriors bowlers going as they opened the batting for their team. Both Patil, who took the first wicket, and Padikkal, who left shortly after the powerplay, failed to contribute significantly in the early going.
But after that, Jeswath Acharya and Krishnan Shrijith dug in and rebuilt. Shrijith was more than eager to keep the scoreboard moving from his end, even if Acharya appeared more at ease going the aerial path. In his 34-run innings, Acharya slammed four sixes and a boundary, while Shrijith scored 30.
However, Shrijith contributed significantly to the partnership with Manish Pandey, who was in fantastic form and gave the Mystics' innings a lot of impetus. Rain forced the end of the Mystics' innings with their score at 148/4 in 17.3 overs after Manish smashed four sixes and three boundaries while scoring 57 not out from 27 balls.
The Warriors would have 11 overs to chase down 110 using the VJD method after the rain ceased. The Warriors had to start the game in fifth gear because of the playing circumstances, which led to an early collapse.
The Mystics were in the box as the first three wickets fell in a span of 19 deliveries: Karun Nair (3), Nihal Ullal (6), and Shivraj S (8). Additionally, Naga Bharath left for two runs just before the end of the fifth over while Pavan Deshpande was attempting to fight. Warriors needed 73 runs in the final 6 overs to win.
Deshpande could not maintain his momentum for very long and was dismissed for 25. Shreyas Gopal then hit three sixes in the eighth over to reduce the equation to 32 runs needed in the final three overs. The Warriors were somewhat held down by Shubhang Hegde's (6) dismissal in the following over, and Shreyas' wicket in the eleventh over was the deciding blow.
The Shivamogga Strikers take against the Gulbarga Mystics first on Monday, and then Mangalore United host the Hubli Tigers.