The league-stage fixture of Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 is done and dusted, with the Bengaluru Blasters, Gulbarga Mystics, Mysore Warriors, and Hubli Tigers advancing to the semi-final round. Bengaluru Blasters will face the Gulbarga Mystics in the first semi-final on August 30, while the Mysore Warriors will clash with the Hubli Tigers in the second semi-final on August 31.
For now, this is Deepak Prakash signing off on behalf of my co-commentators AkshayaKrishna Polya, Ajay Pal Singh, and scorer/analyst Ghanendra Singh Thakur, who brought you all the action from this clash. Cheers!
Vyshak Vijaykumar (Player of the Match & Gulbarga Mystics stand-in skipper): "(On Devdutt Padikkal) Yeah, he should be fine. He's just taking it easy because we have a big game tomorrow.
Well, I think the coaches trust my batting, so they promoted me last game as well. It’s nice to contribute to the team. Yes, my bowling hasn’t been great, but it’s still good to contribute to a winning side.
Tomorrow is a new day, so we always make sure to come back fresh. It's important to maintain the winning momentum. Hopefully, we can carry that forward and turn the tables around in the next game.
Yeah, I think the boys have really worked hard. Playing ten games isn’t easy, especially with a couple of niggles. We’re taking it easy for now. Smaran has been batting really well, but he had a minor niggle and needed some rest. He’ll be back tomorrow. We’re also hoping Devdutt will be fit and fine. With the way we’re batting, we can chase any target. Our goal is to restrict them to a manageable total and then make it to the final."
Player of the Match: Vyshak Vijaykumar
Trusted Player of the Match: Monish Reddy
Super Sixes of the Match: Krishnan Shrijith
Catch of the Match: Rishi Bopanna
Time for the post-match presentation...
11:11 PM IST, Local Time: An emphatic victory for Gulbarga Mystics as they staged a solid comeback in the latter part of the game, thumping the Hubli Tigers by four wickets with five balls to spare.
Earlier, after being invited to bat first, Mohammed Taha gave the Tigers a quick start with a blistering 35 off 20 balls before being dismissed by Monish Reddy in the 5th over. Despite the early loss of Kruthik Krishna in the second over, Shrijith anchored the innings, forging crucial partnerships, including a 26-run stand with Aneeshwar Gautam and another 26 off 23 with Karthikeya KP.
Manish Pandey struggled, scoring just 9 off 11 balls, but managed to contribute to a 53-run partnership with Shrijith for the 5th wicket. Shrijith reached his maiden century in the Maharaja Trophy, scoring 100 off just 51 balls. However, the other batters failed to capitalize, and Hubli Tigers ended their innings at 179/7.
Monish Reddy was the standout bowler for the Mystics, taking 4/32, while Vyshak Vijaykumar, Abhishek Prabhakar, and Prithviraj Shekawat each claimed a wicket.
In pursuit of 179 runs, Mystics got off to a shaky start, losing their top three batters inside the powerplay. Sourabh Muttur and Vyshak Vijaykumar steadied the ship for a while but Madhav Prakash Bajaj trapped the former in the 10th over of the innings and broke the budding partnership. Vijaykumar continued his merry ways and notched up his fifty but failed to bat till the end, departing for 51 runs. Prithviraj Shekhawat followed suit, scoring 16 runs off 12 balls.
The Mystics were in a spot of bother but Ritesh Bhatkal (35* off 19) and Praveen Dubey (34* off 14) unleashed their inner fury from the outset at the tail end of the innings and smashed the Hubli Tigers for fun. The dynamic duo added an unbeaten 57 runs for the seventh wicket, helping Mystics cross the line with five balls to spare.
Vidhwath Kaverappa, KC Cariappa, and Madhav Prakash Bajaj grabbed a couple of wickets each for the Tigers.