Bengaluru, Aug 17 Mangaluru Dragons delivered a commanding performance to overpower Shivamogga Lions, securing an eight-wicket victory at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 league at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday.
Powered by explosive contributions by Rohan Patil (72) and Macneil Noronha (43), the Dragons chased down a target of 176 with ease. Despite a valiant unbeaten 84 not out from Abhinav Manohar that included nine sixes, Shivamogga endured their second consecutive loss.
Mangaluru Dragons had a lucrative Power-play. Openers Macneil Noronha and Rohan Patil batted with freedom to forge a 75-run partnership in 35 balls before Noronha was claimed by Rajvir Wadhwa. Noronha’s four boundaries and four maximums placed the Dragons well ahead of the equation early on.
With Nikin Jose (17) playing the supporting role, Rohan Patil imprinted himself onto the next phase of the innings. Patil cracked three more sixes, and four boundaries, completing a 28-ball half-century and building a 49-run alliance with Jose.
When Hardik Raj scalped Rohan Patil in the 13th over and brought the scoreline to 134/2, K.V Siddarth (38*) picked up the onus of scoring runs and smashed four boundaries and two consecutive sixes in 19 balls to help the Mangaluru Dragons cruise home with eight wickets and 3.4 overs to spare.
Batting first, skipper Nihal Ullal (0) was castled by Abhilash Shetty for his second consecutive duck. Rohit Kumar (24) worked four boundaries before he was caught behind off Nischit Rao’s bowling. Runs were hard to come by for the Shivamogga Lions and they only managed 40 runs by the end of the Power-play.
Rajvir Wadhwa’s 17-ball stint at the crease ended when he was caught and bowled by MB Darshan. Soon after, Dhruv Prabhakar (20) would become Shreyas Gopal’s first wicket of the night.
Amidst the struggles, it was the tournament’s highest-paid player, Abhinav Manohar (84 not out), who ignited the Shivamogga’s innings. Following a cautious start, Manohar launched a counterattack, smashing two sixes and a four off Shreyas Gopal to propel the Lions to 91/4 by the 14th over.
Manohar combined with Avinash D. (22) to put on an 88-run partnership in just 44 deliveries as they carved another massive over when he took Darshan M.B for two sixes and a four in the 18th over. Manohar’s half-century came in 27 balls, the next seven deliveries would earn him another 31 runs including two sixes in the final two deliveries of the innings to place Shivamogga at 175/6.
Brief scores:
Shivamogga Lions 172/6 in 20 overs (Abhinav Manohar 84 not out, Rohit K. 24, Avinash D. 22; Nischit N. Rao 2-31) lost to Mangaluru Dragons 178/2 in 16.2 overs (Rohan Patil 72, Macneil Noronha 43, K.V Siddharth 38; Rajvir Wadhwa 1-23) by eight wickets.
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