Hubli Tigers completed yet another comprehensive victory, defeating Mangaluru Dragons by 63 runs to remain undefeated at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, here on Thursday.
A stellar show with the bat, led by M. Taha (52), Krishnan Shrijith (52) and skipper Manish Pandey (69 not out) helped the Hubli Tigers stamp their authority. Debutant Nathan D’Mello also showed his prowess with the ball, picking up the three crucial wickets for the Hubli Tigers. Despite flashes of brilliance, the Mangaluru Dragons were outplayed on all fronts.
Put into bat first, the Hubli Tigers had an explosive start. Despite the early loss of Luvnit Sisodia (1), they amassed 58 runs in the powerplay with opener M. Taha and Krishnan Shrijith leading the assault. They doubled down on the accelerator in the next phase of the game, dispatching the ball to all corners of the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Taha was eventually scalped by Naveen and Shrijith was outfoxed by K Gowtham, leaving the Hubli Tigers at a commanding position of 132/4 at the completion of 13 overs. Captain Manish Pandey was in fine form and blazed his way to a breathtaking half century that came in just 26 balls, comprising nine boundaries.
While Manvanth Kumar (1) departed before he could make an impact, Pandey was supported by Naga Bharat (15) as they wove together a 51-run partnership.
Manish Pandey finished unbeaten to ensure the momentum till the end of the innings, while Naga Bharath retired himself out to bring in Praveen Dubey, who cracked a vital 18 runs in just four balls to help Hubli post a formidable total of 215/5.
In response, the Mangaluru Dragons began their chase with all guns blazing. While Rohan Patil (7) lost his wicket to the guile of Vidwath Kaverappa, BU Shivakumar (23) supported last match’s centurion, Sharath BR, who went onto demolish the Hubli bowling attack for a quick fire 38 runs in just 18 balls including a 22 run over of Manvanth Kumar.
At the end of the powerplay, the Mangaluru Dragons were 65/1 and looked well on track to challenge Hubli. The innings began to unravel when Sharath BR was scalped by the experienced KC Cariappa, followed by the dismissal of Shivkumar by Nathan D’Mello.
Aneeshwar Gautam, Aniruddha Joshi and skipper K. Gowtham all fell soon after to leave Mangaluru reeling at 90/6 in 11 overs.
Coming in at number six, KV Siddharth (47 not out) soldiered on but the task at hand was insurmountable. Deepak Gowda also chipped in, but the Mangaluru Dragons fell significantly short at 152/8 in 20 overs. Debutant Nathan D’Mello was the pick of Hubli’s bowling attack with figures of 3/23 while Praveen Dubey picked up two wickets for just 13 runs.
Brief Scores:
Hubli Tigers 215/5 in 20 overs (Manish Pandey 69 not out, Mohammed Taha 52, Krishnan Shrijith 52; Prateek Jain 1/6, Paras Gurbaux Arya – 1/27, K Gowtham 1/36) beat Mangaluru Dragons 152/8 in 20 overs (Krishnamurthy Siddharth 47 not out, Sharath BR 38, Shivakumar BU 23, Nathan D’mello 3/23, Praveen Dubey 2/13) by 63 runs
