Mysore: Captain Karun Nair’s brilliant unbeaten knock (91 off 52) led his team Mysore Warriors to a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Hubli Tigers in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 2022 at the Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wadiyar Ground, here on on Wednesday.
Batting first, the Hubli Tigers lost BU Shiva Kumar (6) early, however that did not do anything to slow down Luvnith Sisodia, who was picking up boundaries at will. Sisodia’s attacking approach drove the Tigers’ batting in the powerplay, but just as he seemed set for a big one, he was dismissed for 38, having hit 9 boundaries.
After the powerplay, Liyan Khan and Naveem MG looked to keep the momentum going, but the latter was knocked over for 5, before Shishir Bhavane had to be carried off due to a knee injury, picked up while looking to take a second run.
Midway through, the Tigers were 66/3 with Khan and Sagar Solanki looking good. However, just as the 32-run stand was picking up steam Solanki was castled for 8, Khan was next out for 26 and Abhimanyu Mithun followed for 7. Tushar Singh put the long handle to good use, adding 36 to the cause, pushing the Tigers’ total to a fighting 140/6 after 20 overs.
In response, the Mysuru Warriors, with the home crowd cheering them on, got off to a solid start as captain Karun Nair and Nihal Ullal settled in well. Both batters were happy to not force the issue and waited to attack the bad deliveries.
The mixed approach took them through the powerplay to 47/0 with the Tigers bowling looking a little lost for ideas. The batters brought up the half-century stand soon after and continued to chip away at the target.
As the midway mark approached, Karun picked up the pace, bringing the equation down to 58 needed in the last 10 overs. In the next over, Karun completed a well made fifty off 31 balls and then out he came dancing down the track or went down on one knee to dispatch the bowlers with ease. As Karun upped the ante, the Tigers’ shoulders dropped, and soon enough the openers had finished off the task in the 16th over.
On Thursday, Bengaluru Blasters will take on Mangalore United while the Mysore Warriors play Gulbarga Mystics in another game. Both matches will be played in Mysore.
Brief Scores: Hubli Tigers – 140/6 in 20 overs (L Sisodia 38, Tushar Singh 36 not out, Shreyas Gopal 2/22, Vidyadhar Patil 1/32) lost to Mysore Warriors 141/0 in 15.5 overs (Karun Nair 91 not out, Nihal Ullal 48 not out) by 10 wickets
–IANS