Maharaja Trophy: Gautam, Shrijith script Hubli Tigers' 42-run triumph over Mangaluru Dragons

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 26 (ANI): The Hubli Tigers defeated Mangaluru Dragons by 42 runs to register their sixth win of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Buoyed by an enormous partnership of 148 runs between Aneeshwar Gautam (95*) and KL Shrijith (77) the Hubli Tigers posted a formidable total of 209/3. Though the Mangaluru Dragons stayed on course for the majority of the run chase, stellar spells from Hubli's Nischith Pai (3/21) and Rishi Bopanna (3/28) resulted in crucial breakthroughs and kept the Dragons at bay.
Chasing a steep target, Mangaluru's Macneil Noronha (14) went after Manvanth Kumar in the first over, working three boundaries on the offside before he was dismissed by Nischith Pai in the second over. Pai also bagged Tushar Singh (11) in the fourth. However, Impact player and opener, Rohan Patil (25) amassed 15 runs in the sixth over to bring Mangaluru Dragons to 56/2 at the end of the powerplay, a release said.
Patil's knock ended when he was run out in the seventh over. KV Siddharth (30) and Lochan Gowda (35) kept the Mangaluru Dragons in contention, building a 52-run partnership in 28 balls. With Siddharth anchoring at one end, Lochan Gowda's 18-ball knock saw three sixes and two fours before he was scalped by Akash Katamble in the 13th over.
Mangaluru's skipper Shreyas Gopal wasted no time, racing to 30 runs in 15 balls. Meanwhile, KV Siddharth, now in pursuit of quick runs, was removed by Rishi Bopanna courtesy of a sharp catch from Nischit Pai.
With the equation asking for 55 runs in 27 balls, the Mangaluru Dragons' run chase crumbled. Sagar Solanki (1) fell quickly to Madhav Bajaj, followed by Nikin Jose (0) who was dismissed by Rishi Bopanna.
In the 19th over, Shreyas Gopal perished as well to become Nischith's third wicket of the match. The Mangaluru Dragons eventually finished short at 167/10.
In the first innings, Hubli Tigers lost both openers early in the powerplay, Karthikeya KP (9) fell to Shreyas Gopal in the second over and Abhilash Shetty accounted for Taha who departed with a golden duck. From this point forward, KL Shrijith (77) and Aneeshwar Gautam (95*) would take control of the innings. The duo took the Hubli Tigers to 47/1 by the end of the powerplay.
The left-handed duo forged an explosive partnership in the middle overs, accumulating 95 runs between the 7th and 15th over. Aneeshwar Gautam unleashed a lethal attack on Dheeraj Gowda in the 12th over, smashing three fours and a six in consecutive deliveries, not only racking up 21 runs but also surpassing the half-century mark in just 32 balls.
While Shrijith took the more cautious approach at first, he stepped on the gas with a six and a four off Macneil Noronha in the 14th over and then took down Shreyas Gopal for two sixes in the 15th over, en route to a 37-ball half-century. The mammoth partnership of 148 runs ended when Shrijith was caught at deep mid-wicket, in pursuit of his third six of the over against Advith Shetty in the 16th.
Consequentially, Manish Pandey (24*) joined Aneeshwar Gautam with the scoreline at 161/3 in 16 overs. The Mangaluru Dragons did well to shackle Gautam in the death overs, however, Manish Pandey tore into Paras Gurbax Arya in the penultimate over, taking him down the ground for four and two maximums in three consecutive deliveries. Aneeshwar Gautam and Manish Pandey remained unbeaten as Hubli Tigers finished at 209/3 in 20 overs. (ANI)