Maharaja Trophy KSCA 2023: Gulbarga register clinical win over Mangaluru to semis berth

Gulbarga Mystics - 145-2 in 15.3 overs: (KV Aneesh 72* off 42 balls, LR Chethan 58 off 37 balls, R Smaran 8* off 11 balls, Krishnappa Gowtham 2-21)

Day 15, Match 2

Bengaluru, 27^th August, 2023: Shivamogga Lions beat Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters by 11 runs in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 to finish fourth on the points table and qualify for the semi-finals. A big-hitting masterclass from Abhinav Manohar (58* off 25 balls) and Shreyas Gopal (43 off 23 balls) in their 102-run partnership proved to be too much for Bengaluru as D Nischal’s 68 from 40 balls went in vain with Bengaluru ending their innings on 181-8.

The Shivamogga Lions had a modest powerplay, scoring 37 runs for the loss of one wicket in the form of Nihal Ullal (10), who fell to Shubhang Hegde in the fourth over, after being asked to bat first by Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters.

Opener Rohan Kadam (35) added 42 runs for the second wicket with Vinay Sagar (32) before perishing to Sarfaraz Ashraf in the ninth over at the end of which the score read 64-2. Bengaluru pacer Tanish Mahesh got rid of Rohit Kumar (8) and the well-set Vinay Sagar in the 12^th over bringing Abhinav Manohar and Shreyas Gopal to the crease at 86-4. The duo got going immediately taking the score to 116-4 by the end of the 15^th over.

Both skipper Shreyas Gopal (43 off 23 balls) and Abhinav Manohar (58* off 25 balls) went on an absolute rampage, destroying the Bengaluru bowlers in the death and making the fielding side pay for the multiple catches that were dropped. Manohar went on to bring up his half century in 21 balls. Gopal was bowled by Tanish Mahesh on the penultimate ball of the innings after a mammoth 102-run partnership from just 47 balls as the team finished on 192-5 from their 20 overs, which included 98 runs in the final seven overs.

In the second innings, Bengaluru skipper Mayank Agarwal (14) was dismissed by counterpart Shreyas Gopal at the end of the third over but opener EJ Jasper (22) and D Nischal (68) found the boundary on a few occasions to take the score to 48-1 by the end of the powerplay. 

EJ Jasper was dismissed by Pranav Bhatia in the seventh over bringing southpaw Pavan Deshpande (8) to the crease, who was run out in the tenth over at the end of which the score was 76-3. D Nischal brought up his half century in 30 balls during his 60-run partnership with Shubhang Hegde (15) which came off 30 balls. Hegde was dismissed by HS Sharath in the 15^th leaving Bengaluru with 60 runs to get in the final five overs.

D Nischal was run out in the 17^th over after a well-made 68 from 40 balls. A late onslaught from Suraj Ahuja (27) was negated as he was sent back to the pavilion by Kranthi Kumar while Aditya Somanna picked the wickets of Aman Khan (10) and LR Kumar (6) in the final over to help Shivamogga Lions win by 11 runs and secure a spot in the semi-finals, where they will take on the Hubli Tigers while the Mysuru Warriors will play the Gulbarga Mystics.

Brief Scores: 

Shivamogga Lions won by 11 runs

Shivamogga Lions - 192-5 in 20 overs: (Abhinav Manohar 58* off 25 balls, Shreyas Gopal 43 off 23 balls, Rohan Kadam 35 off 26 balls, Tanish Mahesh 3-50, Sarfaraz Ashraf 1-25, Shubhang Hegde 1-28)

Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters - 181-8 in 20 overs: (D Nischal 68 off 40 balls, Suraj Ahuja 29 off 18 balls, EJ Jasper 22 off 21 balls, Aditya Somanna 2-24, Pranav Bhatia 1-15, Shreyas Gopal 1-25)