Maharaja Trophy KSCA 2023: Gulbarga Mystics Ride on Smaran-Noronha Partnership to beat Hubli Tigers, Mysuru Warriors outshine Mangaluru Dragons
Macneil Noronha and Smaran register 110-run stand in just 74 deliveries to complete a swift run chase.
Day 11, Match 1
Bengaluru, August 23 2023: The Gulbarga Mystics secured their fourth victory of the Shriram Capital Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, powered by FanCode. Gulbarga won by 7 wickets to hand the Hubli Tigers their second loss of Maharaja Triphy KSCA 2023. K Shrijith (65)
However, the chief architects of their victory were Macneil Noronha and Smaran who put on a marvelous 110-run partnership to complete an untroubled run chase for the Mystics. Noronha had earlier in the match also picked up the crucial wickets of Luvnith Sisodia and Praveen Dubey.
Invited to bat, the explosive opening pair of Luvnith Sisodia (6) and M.Taha (12) were reined in by a series of tight overs from the Gulbarga Mystics. The mounting pressure forced both batters to lose their wickets while trying to accelerate within the powerplay. Macneil Noronha scalped Sisodia while Taha was caught out by the bowling of Sharan Goud. At the end of the powerplay the Hubli Tigers were precariously poised at 37/2. While KL Shrijith (66) looked
Skipper Manish Pandey joined Shrijith as the pair put on a 90-run partnership.
Manvanth Kumar was dismissed in the very next over while MB Darshan chipped in with important runs. The Hubli Tigers failed to capitalize on the platform built during the middle overs, as they finished on 164/6, securing only 28 runs in the last four overs with Manish Pandey facing only seven of those deliveries.
In response, the Gulbarga Mystics began with a moderately successful powerplay. While they scored 48 runs on par with the required run rate, they lost both openers, Chethan LR and impact player, Aadarsh Prajwal. Chethan fell to V. Kaverappa as early as the third over and Aadarsh Prajwal was dismissed by KC Cariappa in the sixth over. The innings was reinvigorated as Macneil Noronha and Smaran got together to construct one of the tournament’s finest partnerships.
Their 110-run stand came in a mere 74 balls and saw the Gulbarga Mystics to a comfortable victory. Both batsmen reached their half centuries in 34 balls, rotating the strike exceptionally well while finding boundaries at regular intervals. The game slipped away from the Hubli Tigers, and they only managed a consolatory run out of Smaran in the 19th over. Macneil Noronha was joined by Amit Verma (1*) as the Gulbarga Mystics went to win by 7 wickets and 8 balls remaining.
Brief Scores
Gulbarga Mystics won by 7 wickets
Hubli Tigers - 164/6 in 20 overs (Krishnan Shrijith - 65 off 38 balls, Manish Pandey - 48* off 32 balls, MB Darshan - 13 off 12 balls, Macneil Noronha - 2/15, Abhilash Shetty - 1/24, Vijaykumar Vyshak - 1/29)
Gulbarga Mystics - 165/3 in 18.4 overs (Macneil Noronha - 65* off 50 balls, Smaran R - 56 off 38 balls, Aadarsh Prajwal - 14 off 14 balls, KC Cariappa - 1/28, Vidwath Kaverappa - 1/32)
Day 11, Match 2
Bengaluru, August 23, 2023: The Mysuru Warriors beat the Mangaluru Dragons by 7 wickets with 21 balls remaining to bring up their fifth win of the Shriram Capital Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, powered by FanCode. A disciplined bowling effort led by Monish Reddy (3/42) and Jagadeesha Suchith (2-24) followed by an onslaught with the bat by KS Lankesh and Karun Nair (45 off 23 balls) ensuring that the Mysuru Warriors got a crucial two points from the encounter to retain their place at second position on the points table.
After putting the Mangaluru Dragons into bat, the Mysuru Warriors drew first blood with Monish Reddy accounting for KV Siddharth off the first ball of the match. BR Sharath (11) and skipper Krishnappa Gowtham (15) struck a few boundaries before also falling within the powerplay. Gaurav Dhiman was dismissed by left-arm spinner Shreesha Achar to leave Mangaluru reeling at 46-4 by the end of the seventh over.
Rohan Patil (52) was the lone warrior while the other Mangaluru batters fell prey to the pressure created by the disciplined bowling of the Mysuru Warriors. Aneeshwar Gautam (11) and Aniruddha Joshi (13) perished without contributing much as Mangaluru were further reduced to 105-6 by the end of the 16th over. MG Naveen (11) fell to Manoj Bhandage in the 17th over while trying to accelerate in a bid to help Mangaluru reach a respectable total.
Rohan Patil went on to bring up his half century in 41 balls before he was dismissed by Monish Reddy the following delivery. Tail-enders Aditya Goyal (6*) and Sankalp Shettenavar (9*) added 16 runs in the last 10 balls to take the final score to 140-8.
During Mysuru's chase, an early setback to the Mysuru Warriors in the form of an avoidable run out of Ravikumar Samarth (6) was overcome by a flurry of boundaries from skipper Karun Nair (43) who took the attack to the opposition, launching the team to 38-1 in four overs. Opener Bharat Dhuri (10) was dismissed by Paras Arya but three fours off the blade of Nair off the bowling of his counterpart K Gowtham propelled Mysuru to 52-2 by the end of the powerplay.
Karun Nair was eventually caught behind off MG Naveen in the ninth over, bringing Shoaib Manager out to join impact player KS Lankesh, who already had his eye in having scored 16 runs from 14 balls. Lankesh struck three sixes in the 13th over bowled by Paras Arya to bring up his fifty in 33 balls. Manager played the supporting role perfectly, building an unbeaten partnership of 65 runs from 46 balls with Lankesh (68* off 45 balls), who finished the match with a boundary as the Mysuru Warriors comfortably beat the Mangaluru Dragons by 7 wickets with 3.3 overs to spare
Mysuru Warriors won by 7 wickets with 21 balls to spare
Mangaluru Dragons: 140-8 in 20 overs: (Rohan Patil 52 off 42 balls, Krishnappa Gowtham 15 off 14 balls, Aniruddha Joshi 13 off 17 balls, Monish Reddy 3-42, Jagadeesha Suchith 2-24, Shreesha Achar 1-15)
Mysuru Warriors: 141-3 in 16.3 overs: (KS Lankesh 68* off 45 balls, Karun Nair 43 off 25 balls, Shoiab Manager 11* off 15 balls, MG Naveen 1-12, Paras Arya 1-35)
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