Hubli Tigers crash to 38-run defeat in must-win encounter
Bengaluru : Shivamogga Yodhas boosted their playoff hopes with a commanding 38-run victory over Hubli Tigers in the DACSS Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday.Led by a composed unbeaten knock from captain Smaran Ravichandran, the Yodhas posted a challenging 207 for six before bundling out a listless Hubli Tigers for 169 for nine to move to 10 points.
The defeat left the Tigers stranded on six points with just one league match remaining.Chasing 208 without regular captain Mayank Agarwal, the Tigers never looked in contention after left-arm seamer Abhilash Shetty removed openers Hardik Raj (8) and Mohammed Taha (11) inside the first four overs. Reduced to 22 for two, they slipped further to 55 for four and 63 for five in the 10th over, with captain Aneeshwar Gautam departing for 25.Shivkumar Rakshith and Abhinav Manohar briefly delayed the inevitable with an entertaining counterattack, adding valuable runs against a soaring required run rate. Manohar struck 38 off 27 balls (5×4, 1×6), while Rakshith made a fluent 52 off 27 deliveries (3×4, 4×6).
However, once Manohar fell in the 18th over, the contest was effectively over as the Yodhas wrapped up a comprehensive win.Earlier, Ravichandran held the innings together with a mature, unbeaten 40, stitching together three crucial partnerships after the Yodhas made a steady start of 48 for one in the Powerplay.
He added 49 runs with Aneesh KV for the third wicket, another 49 with Aadarsh Prajwal for the fifth, and an unbeaten 47-run stand in just 15 balls with Yashovardhan Parantap for the sixth wicket.Parantap provided the late fireworks, smashing 22 off just eight balls with three towering sixes as the Yodhas plundered 24 runs from the penultimate over, bowled by Vaibhav Sharma. Although Parantap fell in the final over, Shreyank Sagar and Ravichandran ensured the innings finished strongly, with 17 more runs coming off the last six deliveries.
Hubli’s bowlers also conceded 12 wide balls, adding to their woes.Earlier in the innings, opener Luvnith Sisodia made 18 off 15 balls before falling for the second successive match. The knock, however, took his tournament tally to 296 runs from nine innings, leaving him just seven behind leading run-scorer Rohan Patil (303).
Brief scores: Shivamogga Yodhas beat Hubli Tigers by 38 runs.Shivamogga Yodhas 207/6 in 20 overs (Harshil Dharmani 26, Aneesh KV 34, Smaran Ravichandran 40*; Aadarsh Prajwal 31, Yashovardhan Parantap 22; L R Kumar 2/31) beat Hubli Tigers 169/9 in 20 overs (Aneeshwar Gautam 25, Abhinav Manohar 38, Shivkumar Rakshith 52; Abhilash Shetty 2/38, Naveen MG 2/48, Shreesha Achar 4/26) by 38 runs.
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