Shivamogga Lions lost its third match on the trot, succumbing to Mangalore Dragons by 15 runs in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.
Asked to bat first, the Dragons were powered by Thippa Reddy’s blitzkrieg (82, 47b, 11x4, 2x6). He combined for crucial partnerships with M.G. Naveen (16, 10b) and Aniruddha Joshi (34, 20b, 4x4, 1x6), for the fourth and fifth wickets respectively, pushing the total closer to 200.
A wholesome bowling performance later on, where all six of those who rolled their arms over picked up at least a wicket, helped the Mangaluru side restrict the Lions to 176 for nine and secure the win.
The Shivamogga side’s middle and lower-order batters threw their bats around, with Abhinav Manohar (25, 16b, 1x4, 2x6), Pranav Bhatia (39, 18b, 2x4, 4x6) and Kranthi Kumar (21, 7b, 5x4) scoring brisk runs. But they were left with too much to do.
Mystics beat Blasters
In the second encounter of the day, Gulbarga Mystics extended Bengaluru Blasters’ misery, handing the side its eighth loss in as many matches, beating it by five wickets.
Put into bat, the Blasters could only score 113, with no batter other than D. Nischal (36, 33b) crossing 20. Sharan Goud, the player of the match, picked up two wickets (4-0-28-2). The Mystics then made quick-work of the target with more than five overs to spare.
The scores: Mangalore Dragons 191/7 in 20 overs (Thippa Reddy 82, Aniruddha Joshi 34, Aditya Somanna 3/38) bt Shivamogga Lions 176/9 in 20 overs (Rohan Kadam 25, Abhinav Manohar 25, Pranav Bhatia 39); PoM: Thippa Reddy.
Bengaluru Blasters 113 in 19.3 overs (D. Nischal 36, Abhilash Shetty 3/19, D. Avinash 3/22) lost to Gulbarga Mystics 114/5 in 14.5 overs (Macneil Noronha 28, R. Smaran 29); PoM: Sharan Goud.
Friday’s matches: Bengaluru Blasters vs. Mysuru Warriors; Hubli Tigers vs. Shivamogga Lions.
