KSCA T20: Mangaluru Dragons seal victory despite late charge by Shivamogga Lions

Bengaluru (Karnataka)[India], August 25 : In their fourth victory of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, the Mangaluru Dragons triumphed against the Shivamogga Lions by 15 runs.
Debutant Thippa Reddy’s (82) phenomenal knock proved to be the difference in a hard-fought encounter. Despite the late innings push that came from Pranav Bhatia (39 off 18 balls) and Kranthi Kumar (21 off 7 balls) the target of 192 proved insurmountable for the Shivamogga Lions.
Paras Arya (2/29), Sankalp Shettenavar (2/37) and Anand Doddamani (2/31) each picked up two wickets to ensure the Shivamogga Lions’ run chase stuttered at regular intervals.
Invited to bat, the Mangaluru Dragons struggled in the powerplay. Shivamogga’s skipper, Shreyas Gopal’s deceptive spell resulted in the loss of both Sharath BR (1) and Rohan Patil (7).
At the end of the six-over mark, the Mangaluru Dragons were delicately placed at 36/2. Debutant Thippa Reddy (82), however, appeared to be in excellent form as he navigated through the innings with ease.
Supported by Siddharth KV (17) and Naveen (16), who were both scalped by Somanna, Thippa Reddy dealt in boundaries with nine fours to bring up a crucial half-century in only 32 balls.
As the big-hitting Aniruddha Joshi joined Thippa Reddy, the Mangaluru Dragons had recovered exceedingly well to be placed at 106/4 in 13 overs. The pair added a brisk 37 runs in just 23 deliveries, with Thippa Reddy leading the assault before he became Sommana’s third wicket of the day.
Aniruddha Joshi and K Gowtham went on to build a 32-run partnership in just 14 deliveries. Aniruddha Joshi was eventually caught and bowled by V Koushik in the 19th over and K Gowtham (16) was run out in the final over but not before the pair had provided a critical injection late into the innings, adding 32 runs in just 14 deliveries to help Mangaluru finish at a formidable total of 191/7.
Aditya Somanna and Shreyas Gopal led the bowling unit with 3/38 and 2/35 respectively.
Much like the Mangaluru Dragons, the Shivamogga Lions started poorly. The pace of Sankalp Shettenavar saw the demise of Nihal Ullal (7) and Shivamogga were well behind the required run rate at 33/1 by the end of the powerplay. Looking for runs, Rohan Naveen (11) was the next man to fall, caught in the deep of the bowling of Anand Doddamani.
The well-settled Rohan Kadam (25) was dismissed soon after by MG Naveen to leave the Shivamogga Lions in a world of trouble at 46/3 in eight overs. Shreyas Gopal (4) and Rohit Kumar put on 25 runs to move the innings along before Anand Doddamani picked the wicket of Shreyas Gopal and Rohit Kumar perished at the hands of Paras Arya for a well-made 23 runs.
Abhinav Manohar (25) came to the crease and wasted no time; he cracked two sixes and a four before he was also outfoxed by Paras Arya with the score reading at 111/6 in 15 overs. Pranav Bhatia (31) refused to give in to the steep target, he hammered 35 runs in just 16 deliveries, clearing the ropes on four occasions.
Along with Kranthi Kumar (21), the pair put on 29 runs in just eight deliveries as Kranthi Kumar also looked set to pull off a heist for the Shivamogga Lions, taking Aditya Goyal for 20 runs before he was dismissed in the same over.
Pranav Bhatia was finally sent back to the pavilion in the 19th over of K Gowtham to shut the doors on their run chase. The Shivamogga Lions finished short of their target with 176/9 to lose to the Mangaluru Dragons by 15 runs.
Brief Scores: Mangaluru Dragons - 191/7 in 20 overs (Thippa Reddy 82, Aniruddha Joshi 34, Siddharth 17, Aditya Somanna 3/38, Shreyas Gopal 2/35, V Koushik 1/33) vs Shivamogga Lions - 176/9 in 20 overs (Pranav Bhatia - 39, Abhinav Manohar 25, Rohan Kadam 25, Rohit Kumar K 23, Kranthi Kumar 21, Paras Gurbaux Arya 2/29, Anand Doddamani 2/31, Sankalp Shettennavar 2/37).