Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 2023: Shivamogga Lions emerge victorious over Mangaluru Dragons, Hubli Tigers register second straight victory

Day 2, Match-1

Bengaluru August 14th, 2023:  The Mangaluru Dragons and the Shivamogga Lions faced off against each other to kick off their inaugural campaigns in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. The Shivamogga Lions emerged victorious at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, defeating the Mangaluru Dragons by 9 runs.

 Their stellar victory was powered by a match-winning partnership, woven together by Skipper Shreyas Gopal (46) and Abhinav Manohar (50) who took apart the Dragons’ bowling attack in the death overs. Their efforts were further aided by a composed display of death bowling by the astute V Koushik and Sharath HS that nullified the late-innings blitzkrieg brought on by Siddharth KV and Anirudha Joshi.

Put in to bat by the Mangaluru Dragons, the Shivamogga Lions got off to an ideal start scoring 50 runs in the powerplay without the loss of a wicket, courtesy; openers Rohan Kadam (27 runs off 25 balls) and wicketkeeper-batsman Nihal Ullal (28 runs off 19 balls). The Dragons came back strong with pacer Naveen MG getting rid of both the openers with well-directed bouncers.  

At 80-3 in 11.2 overs, the stage was set for the Shivamogga Lions to put up a big total when Abhinav Manohar walked in to bat, joining skipper Shreyas Gopal at the crease. The duo stitched together a huge 93-run partnership in just 48 balls that included a 21-run over of K Gowtham in the 18th over thanks to a couple of sixes from skipper Shreyas Gopal and one from Manohar.

Naveen MG did justice to his captain’s decision of bringing him back to bowl the final over by picking up the wickets of both Manohar (50 runs off 25 balls) and Gopal (46 runs off 32 balls) as the Lions ended their innings on 176-5. Naveen was the pick of the bowling attack for the Dragons, finishing with figures of 4 for 19 in his quota of 4 overs. 

The Mangaluru Dragons got off to a flier scoring 39 runs off their first four overs with Impact Player Rohan Patil (23 runs off 15 balls) leading the charge before debutant pacer Nischith Rao removed both openers within the space of 3 balls to halt the onslaught from the Dragons’ batters. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals as the Shivamogga Lions’ spinners Shreyas Gopal, Pranav Bhatia, and Deepak Devadiga tightened the noose on the Dragons’ batting line-up to have them reeling at 77-5 at the end of the eleventh over. 

Requiring a hundred runs off the final 9 overs, the change in momentum was brought about by KV Siddharth who hit two consecutive sixes off the final two deliveries of the 12th over from Shreyas Gopal. This was followed by 21 runs in the 15th over bowled by Nischith Rao that included three sixes from the bat of seasoned campaigner Anirudha Joshi, whose half-century came in just 29 balls. 

With just 38 runs required off the final 4 overs and two set batsmen at the crease, the odds began to favour the Dragons, however, top-quality death bowling from pacers V Koushik and Sharath HS coupled with the brilliance of Rohan Kadam in the field to dismiss Anirudha Joshi and K Gowtham ensured that the Shivamogga Lions would go on to win the match by 9 runs. 

Brief Scores: 

Shivamogga Lions won by 9 runs 

Shivamogga Lions- 176/5 in 20 overs (Abhinav Manohar - 50 off 25 balls, Shreyas Gopal - 46 off 32 balls, Nihal Ullal - 28 off 19 balls, M.G. Naveen - 4/19, Aditya Goyal - 1/19) 

Mangaluru Dragons- 167/7 in 20 overs (Anirudha Joshi - 50 off 31 balls, K.V. Siddarth - 46* off 35 balls, Rohan Patil - 23 off 15 balls, Pranav Bhatia 2/21, Nischith - 2/28, H.S. Sharath - 1/29) 

Day-2, Match 2

Bengaluru, August 14, 2023: In the second encounter of the day, the Hubli Tigers registered yet another massive victory, defeating the Gulbarga Mystics with 7 wickets in hands at the Shriram Capital Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, powered by Fancode. Luvnith Sisodia and Krishnan Srijith registered a mammoth 106-run partnership to ensure the Tigers chased down their target of 139 in just 15.2 overs. 

The Hubli Tigers won the toss and elected to field first. Chethan LR (10) and Adarsh Prajwal (14) looked threatening, but both departed within the powerplay leaving the Mystics at 43/2. The trend persisted throughout the innings; with several batsmen getting starts but failing to convert them into something more substantial. 

 Youngster Manvanth Kumar was in sublime form spearheading the Tigers’ bowling unit and scalping the middle order comprising KV Aneesh (16), Smaran R (15), and Amit Verma (19).  Macneil Noronha (23) dispatched the ball into the stands on two occasions but was eventually dismissed by Mitrakanth Yadav. Sourabh Muttur did well to accumulate 18 runs before Vidwath Kaverappa sent him back to the pavilion. Lavish Kaushal swiftly cleaned up the tail with the wickets of Avinash (6) and Sharan Goud (6), following which Vyshakh Vijaykumar (0) ran himself out to wrap up the innings at 138/10 in 19.3 overs. 

In response, the Tigers cruised to victory. Despite last night’s half-centurion, M. Taha departing for a duck at the hands of Abhilash Shetty, Luvnith Sisodia (61) and Krishnan Srijith (47) asserted themselves, cracking boundaries at will. At the end of the powerplay, the Tigers were in a commanding position at 52/1.  The barrage continued through the middle overs as both batters blazed their way to a 106-run partnership. Luvnith Sisodia’s half-century came in just 28 deliveries, comprising 7 boundaries.  

In the eleventh over, Krishnan Srijith was Abhilash Shetty’s second victim of the night, failing to register a deserving half-century, while Luvnith Sisodia was also dismissed by Sharan Goud soon after. At this stage of the match, the Tigers were well ahead.  Naga Bharath and Manish Pandey joined the party and helped the Hubli Tigers complete a dominant victory with 7 wickets and 28 balls to spare. 

Brief Scores:  

Hubli Tigers won by 7 wickets 

Gulbarga Mystics - 138/10 in 19.3 overs (Macneil Noronha - 23 off 18 balls, Amit Verma - 19 off 17 balls, Sourabh Muttur - 17 off 18 balls, Manvanth Kumar L - 3/21, Lavish Kaushal - 2/26, Vidhwath Kaverappa - 2/24) 

Hubli Tigers - 141/3 in 15.2 overs (Luvnith Sisodia - 61 of 40 balls, Krishnan Shrijith - 47 of 32 balls, Manish Pandey - 15 of 10 balls, Abhilash Shetty - 2/23, Sharan Goud - 1/8)