Karnataka began their Super League campaign of the Syed Munshtaq Ali T20 tournament in style defeating domestic giants Mumbai by nine wickets in a Group B match here on Friday.
Karnataka bowlers put up a spirited show and restricted Mumbai for a paltry 97 for nine in their 20 overs with pacer R Vinay Kumar (2/15) and right-arm medium pacer Manoj Bhadange (2/11) picking up two wickets apiece.
Opting to bat at the Holkar Stadium, Mumbai lost out-of-form opener Prithvi Shaw (0) in the first over itself.
The Vinayak Samant-coached team then lost four wickets in quick succession -- Siddhesh Lad (13), Surya Kumar Yadav (14), skipper Shreyas Iyer (10) and Aditya Tare (0) -- for just 39 runs.
All-rounder Shubham Ranjane (15) and Akash Parkar (22) tried to rebuild the innings with a 25-run stand before Ranjane was trapped in front by leg-spinner K C Cariappa as Mumbai lost their sixth wicket for 64 runs.
After that, Mumbai’s lower middle-order also faltered as they failed to cross the 100-run mark.
The chase was a walk in the park for Karnataka as they overhauled the total in just 13.2 overs by losing just one wicket.
Openers Rohan Kadam (62 not out off 45 balls) and B R Sharath (25 off 31 balls) took the experienced Mumbai attack to task and laid the foundation stone for the win with a 79-run stand for the first wicket.
Bengal also started their campaign on a winning note by beating Railways by six wickets.
Chasing a modest 143, opener Shreevats Goswami’s 80 helped Bengal overhaul the target with ease.
Meanwhile, Vidarbha bowlers wreaked havoc as they shot out Delhi for a meagre 83, with pacers Umesh Yadav, Srikant Wagh and Yash Thakur picking up two wickets each.
Vidarbha lost just a lone wicket and chased down the target with ease to collect all four points.