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The league phase of the Maharaja Trophy T20 ended on Thursday with Gulbarga Mystics defeating Hubli Tigers by four wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. (More Cricket News)
The semifinal fixtures were already confirmed before the match with both teams already qualified. Bengaluru Blasters will take on Gulbarga Mystics in the first semifinal on Friday while Mysore Warriors will take on Hubli Tigers in the second semifinal on Saturday.
The match saw a sizzling century from KL Shrijith (100*) that steered Hubli Tigers to 179/7 despite Monish Reddy’s figures of 4/32 for the Mystics.
Put into bat first, the Hubli Tigers scored 46 runs in the powerplay for the loss of two wickets. Kruthik Krishna (1) was dismissed by Vyshak Vijaykumar in the second over while Taha (35) smashed four boundaries and two sixes before he holed out to Prithviraj Shekhawat at deep square leg, off Monish Reddy in the fifth.
KL Shrijith (100*) and Aneeshwar Gautam’s (9) partnership looked menacing, earning 14 runs in the seventh over before Abhishek Prabhakar removed Aneeshwar Gautam in the ninth over. Karthikeya KP struggled as well, picked up by Prithviraj Shekhawat in the thirteenth over, leaving Hubli at 95/4.
Shrijith brought up his half century in 32 deliveries, including seven boundaries and a six. The next milestone would come even quicker. Shrijith took Abhishek Prabhakar down for two fours and a six in succession, followed by three consecutive boundaries off Shekawat, eventually reaching a 51-ball century. He hit 14 fours and cleared the ropes thrice on his way as Hubli Tigers posted 179/7.
Monish Reddy was the standout bowler for the Gulbarga Mystics, delivering a frugal spell in the death overs. He dismissed Manish Pandey (9), Manvanth Kumar (11), and Rishi Bopanna (0) to finish with figures of 4/32.
The Gulbarga Mystics chase of 180 was dented by Vidwath Kaverappa (Impact Player) in the powerplay as he ousted Aneesh KV (0) and Sharath BR (13). KC Cariappa’s quicker one castled Luvnith Sisodia (10) to leave Gulbarga in a bind at 28/3 in 4.1 overs. Sourab Muttur (18) and Vyshak Vijaykumar (51) resuscitated the run chase with 14 runs in the sixth over to finish the powerplay at 47/3.
Sourab Muttur was caught and bowled by Madhav Bajaj in the 10th over, derailing the 42-run stand.Vyshak Vijaykumar darted to 32 ball fifty with a swat over the mid-wicket boundary. In the very next over, he was ousted by KC Cariappa as Rishi Bopanna took a blinder at point.
Ritesh Bhatkal was quick on the draw, launching two consecutive sixes against Madhav Bajaj in the 15th over. The same over would see the end of Prithviraj Shekhawat’s 12-ball knock leaving Mystics at 126/6 in 14.4 overs.
The Gulbarga Mystics needed 44 runs in 24 balls. Ritesh Bhatkal and Pravin Dubey combined for 18 runs in the 17th over. Dubey then worked two boundaries and a six of Kaverappa in the 19th over to comfortably steer Gulbarga Mystics home in 19.1 overs. Bhatkal had struck two fours and three sixes in 19 ball knock, while Dubey tallied five fours and a six in 14 balls.
Brief Scores
Gulbarga Mystics won by 4 wickets
Hubli Tigers 179/7 (Mohd. Taha 35 runs off 20 balls, KL Shrijith 100* runs off 51 balls, Manvanth Kumar 11 runs off 8 balls, Monish Reddy 4/32)
Gulbarga Mystics 183/6 in 19.1 overs (Vyshak Vijaykumar 51 runs of 33 balls, Ritesh Bhatkal 35 runs off 19 balls, Praveen Dubey 34 runs off 14 balls, KC Cariappa 2/19, Vidwath Kaverappa 2/31, Madhav Bajaj 2/35)
