The Hubli Tigers were clinical and produced a fine all-round display, as they defeated the Mangaluru Dragons by 23 runs in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium. The win takes the Hubli Tigers to the top of the points table, and the Mangaluru Dragons drop down to third spot.
Captain Devdutt Padikkal scored a half-century for the Hubli Tigers and was ably supported by the experienced Abhinav Manohar, before bowlers KC Cariappa and Yash Punja bagged three-wicket hauls, and Shreesha Achar and Nathan D'Mello returned with two each. For the Mangaluru Dragons, Kranthi Kumar was yet again in fine form, finishing with a three-wicket haul, whilst Macneil Noronha top scored.
Batting first, the Hubli Tigers looked to start quickly with Taha and Devdutt Padikkal taking guard. The openers were quick to find the fence in the early exchanges, putting on a 23-run stand before Taha was dismissed for 11 off 10 balls, by Ronit More. After that, the Mangaluru Dragons struck again as Vijaya Basavaraj Raj was accounted for by Macneil Noronha, for a duck.