Maharaja Trophy T20: Clinical Hubli Tigers overcome Gulbarga Mystics
Bengaluru: L.R Kumar claimed a three-fer while K.L. Shrijith struck a half-century and Aneeshwar Gautam contributed a fine unbeaten 35 to help Hubli Tigers score their second successive win in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 league at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, here on Saturday. Hubli Tigers rode on a fine all-round performance to overcome Gulbarga Mystics by six wickets with nine balls to spare in Match 6 of the event.
The seasoned pair of K.L Shrijith (51) and Manish Pandey (31) combined for an 84-run stand and built the foundation for Aneeshwar Gautam (35 not out) and Kartikeya K.P (31 not out) to script a comfortable finish for Hubli.
Earlier in the match, Devdutt Padikkal’s (46) fiery knock was countered by L.R Kumar and KC Cariappa who led the Hubli bowling attack with figures of 3-34 and 2-22 respectively.
The Hubli Tigers lost both openers early; Vyshak Vijaykumar dismissed Thippa Reddy while Monish Reddy’s sizzling spell saw the end of Mohd Taha to leave Hubli precariously placed at 7/2.
Captain Manish Pandey (31) and Shrijith (51) executed the repair job putting on an 84-run stand. The pair minimized risks through efficient strike rotation initially, however they broke the shackles in the 10th over when Shrijith and Manish Pandey each muscled Ritesh Bhatkal for a six, bringing the scoreline to 79/2.
Shrijith reached his half-century in style, pulling a Vyshak Vijaykumar bouncer into the stands. However, his attempt to repeat the feat in the same over led to his dismissal. His 35-ball fifty included five sixes and three fours. Manish Pandey followed soon after, falling to Prithviraj Shekhawat in the 13th over. With 58 runs needed from 42 balls, the match hung in balance.
Aneeshwar Gautam and Karthikeya K.P. put together 59 runs in 35 balls, scripting a comfortable finish for Hubli in 18.3 overs to hand Gulbarga their second consecutive loss of the season.
Earlier in the evening, Devdutt Padikkal and Luvnith Sisodia (39) set a strong foundation for the Gulbarga Mystics, guiding them to a solid start with 52 runs in the Power-play. In the sixth over Sisodia and Padikkal each launched Hubli’s Manvanth Kumar for a six, signaling their intent.
Padikkal then unleashed a flurry of boundaries, hammering 14 runs off a Rishi Bopanna over, before the opening partnership of 81 runs was broken by KC Cariappa in the ninth over. Bopanna quickly redeemed himself by dismissing Sisodia as well.
The Mystics’ innings wobbled at 106/4 as Aneesh K.V (10) and Smaran R. (8) fell in quick succession. Sharath B.R (12) and Pravin Dubey (11) struggled to stabilise the innings, managing only 22 runs together before Sharath B.R was scalped by Kumar L.R.
Ritesh Bhatkal (14) was soon dismissed by Vidwath Kaverappa, and KC Cariappa claimed his second wicket of the night by removing Dubey. Kumar L.R made further inroads by dismissing Yashovardhan Parantap (5) and Vyshak Vijaykumar (1), restricting the Gulbarga Mystics to 158/9 in their 20 overs.
Brief scores:
Gulbarga Mystics 158/9 in 20 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 46, Luvnith Sisodia 39; LR Kumar 3-34, KC Cariappa 2-22) lost to Hubli Tigers 160/4 in 18.3 overs (K.L Shrijith 51, Aneeshwar Gautam 35 not out, Karthikeya KP 31 not out, Manish Pandey 31; Vyshak Vijaykumar 2-22) by six wickets.
