Hubli Tigers defeat Mangaluru Dragons 42 runs to the finish, written by Aneeshwar Gautam and KL Shrijith

At the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, the Hubli Tigers defeated the Mangaluru Dragons by 42 runs to win the Maharaja Trophy 2024 for the sixth time.

The Hubli Tigers scored a massive 209/3, led by a partnership of 148 runs between Aneeshwar Gautam (95*) and KL Shrijith (77). For the most part of the run chase, the Mangaluru Dragons maintained on course, but brilliant spells from Hubli’s Nischith Pai (3/21) and Rishi Bopanna (3/28) led to vital discoveries and kept the Dragons at bay.

Macneil Noronha (14) of Mangaluru chased a difficult target in the opening over, going after Manvanth Kumar and hitting three boundaries on the offside before being removed by Nischith Pai in the second over. In the fourth, Pai also caught Tushar Singh (11). However, Mangaluru Dragons ended the powerplay at 56/2 when Impact player and opener Rohan Patil (25) scored 15 runs in the sixth over.

When Patil was run out in the seventh over, his knock came to an end. By combining for 52 runs in 28 balls, KV Siddharth (30) and Lochan Gowda (35) kept the Mangaluru Dragons in the game. Before being removed by Akash Katamble in the 13th over, Lochan Gowda struck three sixes and two fours in his eighteen-ball knock, with Siddharth providing cover at one end.

Shreyas Gopal, the captain of Mangaluru, did not waste any time in scoring 30 runs in 15 balls. Meanwhile, KV Siddharth—who was now going for fast runs—was taken out by Rishi Bopanna thanks to a brilliant catch made by Nischit Pai.

The Mangaluru Dragons’ attempt to chase down the target failed, as the equation called for 55 runs in 27 balls. Madhav Bajaj immediately dismissed Sagar Solanki (1), and then Nikin Jose (0) was dismissed by Rishi Bopanna.

Shreyas Gopal also fell in the 19th over, becoming Nischith’s third wicket of the innings. In the end, the Mangaluru Dragons came up short with 167/10.

Hubli Tigers lost both of their openers early in the powerplay in the first innings. Karthikeya KP (9) was bowled out by Shreyas Gopal in the second over, while Taha was removed by Abhilash Shetty with a golden duck. The innings would now be controlled by KL Shrijith (77) and Aneeshwar Gautam (95*). By the end of the powerplay, the two had the Hubli Tigers at 47/1.

During the middle overs, the left-handed pair struck up an explosive connection, scoring 95 runs in the seventh and fifteenth overs.

The 12th over saw Aneeshwar Gautam launch a devastating attack on Dheeraj Gowda, hitting three fours and a six in a row to amass 21 runs and cross the half-century mark in just 32 balls.

Although he initially adopted a more conservative strategy, Shrijith quickly picked up the pace, hitting Macneil Noronha for two sixes and a four in the fourteenth over. In the fifteenth over, he removed Shreyas Gopal for two sixes, his route to a half century off only 37 balls. In the sixteenth over, when attempting to hit his third six of the over against Advith Shetty, Shrijith was caught at deep mid-wicket, ending the massive 148-run partnership.

Also Read: Mysore Warriors lose against Bengaluru Blasters 56 runs thanks to Chethan LR

Consequently, with the score at 161/3 in 16 overs, Manish Pandey (24*) joined Aneeshwar Gautam. The Mangaluru Dragons did a good job of limiting Gautam during the last overs, but in the penultimate over, Manish Pandey took Paras Gurbax Arya for a four and two maximums in three successive deliveries. Hubli Tigers ended at 209/3 in 20 overs with Aneeshwar Gautam and Manish Pandey still undefeated.