Maharaja Trophy: Karun's unbeaten 80 leads Mysore Warriors to semi-finals with 74-run victory over Hubli Tigers

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 28 : Mysore Warriors secured their fifth victory of the season and sealed their spot in the semi-finals, following a comprehensive 74-run win against Hubli Tigers at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20.
Karun Nair (80*) notched up another impressive half-century as he propelled Mysore Warriors to 191/6 in the first innings. In response, the Hubli Tigers' run chase crumbled under the weight of incisive spells from Manoj Bhandage (2/5), J Suchith (2/12) and Dhanush Gowda (2/26).
Hubli Tigers stayed on course during the powerplay, despite losing two wickets. J Suchith dismissed Karthikeya KP (7), but Taha (33) made a strong start with three sixes early on, until he was out to Dhanush Gowda in the sixth over, leaving the Hubli Tigers at 45/2.
KL Shrijith(13) and Manish Pandey (14) couldn't take Hubli much further as Suchith returned to oust Shrijith while Manish Pandey pulled Deepak Devadiga straight into the hands of K Gowtham. The situation further deteriorated as K Gowtham bagged Aneeshwar Gautam (11) in the 14th over.
Meanwhile, Manoj Bhandage's frugal spell ensured the dismissal of Thippa Reddy (3) and Manvanth Kumar (3) and effectively ruined Hubli's prospects, at 87/7. Smayan Srivastava cleaned up the tail with the wickets of Rishi Bopanna (2) and KC Cariappa (11) while Dhanush Gowda returned to dismiss Madhav Bajaj (3). The Hubli Tigers bundled up for 117 runs in 18.4 overs.
Invited to bat first, Mysore's Karthik SU (29) opened fire in the first over, striking 16 runs off Manvanth Kumar. He put on 34 runs with Karthik CA (30) before he was picked up by Kumar LR in the fourth over as Mysore Warriors finished the powerplay at 47/1. Karun Nair (80*) and Karthik CA had put on 42 runs in 25 balls, but Madhav Bajaj ended Karthik CA's handy contribution.
While Karun Nair minimized his risks initially, Sumit Kumar (5) was scalped by Madhav Bajaj while Harshil Dharmani (15) and Manoj Bhandage (0) perished in the span of four balls, dismissed by Rishi Bopanna and KC Cariappa respectively. Mysore Warriors were 116/4 in 15 overs.
When J Suchith (20) joined Karun Nair, he had scored 36 runs in 31 balls including three fours and a six. Nair cut loose in the 17th over, dispatching two consecutive sixes to opposite ends of the park and completing a 34-ball half-century. In the 18th over, Suchith also chimed in with two successive sixes off Kumar LR but was accounted for in the same over.

Karun Nair went on to conquer Nischith Pai in the penultimate over, pummelling two sixes and two fours. Nair remained unbeaten on 80 runs in 48 balls as the Mysore Warriors finished at 191/6 in 20 overs.