Mangaluru Dragons defeated Gulbarga Mystics by 39 runs in the last group stage match of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 league at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium here on Monday. With this win, Mangaluru Dragons finished on top of the table and will face Hubli Tigers in Qualifier 1, while Gulbarga Mystics will take on Bengaluru Blasters in the Eliminator on Tuesday..
After a shaky start to the first innings by the Dragons, Aadarsh Prajwal (27 not out off 15) and Shivaraj S (46 not out off 22) combined for a 75-run partnership in 31 balls and helped the team to 180/6 in the 20 overs. Despite a decent start from Luvnith Sisodia (29 off 13), the Mystics failed to form a stable partnership, courtesy of an exceptional spell from Sachin Shinde (4-14), and ended up losing the match with a total of 141/9 in 20 overs.
Luvnith Sisodia stepped out of the pavilion with a point to prove, propelling the Mystics to 30 runs in three overs with three boundaries and one six. However, he was soon caught at the boundary, off Macneil Norohna. Harshwardhan Khuba (12 off 13) also walked back after being caught off Sachin Shinde. There was still hope as Smaran R. and Siddharth took up the helm and pushed the Mystics up to 49 runs after Power-play.
Although Smaran R. (3 off 5) was run out by Ronit More for cheaply, the next over and the Dragons seemed to gain control of the game. Shreyas Gopal turned the screws further, getting Prajwal Pawan (1 off 2) caught soon after. The runs dried up for the Mystics with Mohith B.A. (16 off 23) and K.V. Siddharth (19 off 20) taking their time to settle down. Sachin Shinde then went on to remove K.V. Siddharth in the 12th over.
Sachin turned on the heat again in the 14th over, picking off Mohith B.A. (impact player) and Lavish Kaushal (0 off 1) in successive deliveries. The wickets continued to fall as Shreevathsa Acharya (impact player) picked off Pravin Dubey (18 off 10) soon after and left the Mystics staring at defeat, needing 53 runs from 18 balls. The task proved to be too difficult as Kranthi Kumar dismissed Shashikumar Kamble (22 off 12) and Prithviraj Shekawat (13 not out off 16), and Likith Bannur (3* off 4) were unable to reach the target.
Earlier in the day, Praveen Dubey began the first innings with a bang, bowling Dragons’ opener Lochan Gowda (0 off 1) for a golden duck. Sharath BR (19 off 15), however, was unfazed by the loss, dispatching Praveen for consecutive sixes and one four in the 3rd over. But Lavish Kaushal proceeded to pick Sharath’s wicket in the 5th over. Thippa Reddy (45 off 37) responded by striking two boundaries and a six to end the Dragons’ powerplay at 46 runs.
While Thippa Reddy was dropped by Harshwardhan Khuba at 28 runs in the eighth over, Aneesh K.V. (12 off 11) was the next from the Dragons to depart after being caught off Prithviraj Shekawat in the next over. Shekawat went on to catch Macneil Noronha (0 off 1) lbw the next delivery and pile the pressure on the Dragons.
Thipa Reddy kept the scoreboard ticking with sporadic boundaries while Skipper Shreyas Gopal (17 off 18) complemented him on the other end. In the 14th over, just as the partnership found stability, Thippa Reddy was dismissed by Praveen, forcing the Dragons to build from scratch.
After losing Shreyas Gopal to Likhit Bannur, the Dragons weren’t in the best position with 135 runs after 17 overs. Aadarsh Prajwal took the onus with three sixes, while Shivaraj S. also pitched in with two sixes and five fours of his own to help the Dragons finish strong. Their quickfire partnership of 75 runs off 31 balls salvaged the innings as the Dragons finished with 180/6 after 20 overs.
Brief scores:
Mangaluru Dragons 180/6 in 20 overs (Shivaraj S. 46, Thippa Reddy 45; Prithviraj Shekawat 2-21, Praveen Dubey 2-33) beat Gulbarga Mystics 141/9 in 20 overs (Luvnith Sisodia 29; Sachin Shinde 4-14) by 39 runs
