Maharaja Trophy T20: Taha helps Hubli Tigers down Shivamogga Lions for fourth win in a row

Bengaluru: An explosive 12-ball 35 by a knock from Mohd. Taha helped Hubli Tigers down Shivamogga Lions by eight wickets, to log their fourth consecutive victory in the Maharaja Trophy T20 league at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Tuesday. The Hubli Tigers overhauled the revised target of 51 runs in five overs. Earlier in the day, Hardik Raj (35) and S. Shivraj (24) shone with the bat, but the Shivamogga Lions could not recover from a slow start that only netted 15 runs in five overs.

Taha ignited Hubli's chase with an explosive start, launching two sixes off Vasuki Kaushik in the opening over. He followed up with a destructive display against Hardik Raj in the third over, smashing three consecutive sixes and a boundary, lifting Hubli to a strong 45/1 in three overs. Taha’s blitzkrieg ended when he became Pradeep’s second of the night in the fourth over. However, K.L Shrijith (8*) and Manish Pandey (4*) remained unbeaten as the Tigers cruised home with eight wickets and 10 balls to spare.

Earlier in the day, the Shivamogga Lions had a rough start, losing Bharath Dhuri early to Nischith Pai. Rohit K. (19) and Aadithya V.K (1) found it difficult to break free against Hubli's pace attack, leaving the Lions at a precarious 15/1 after five overs.

A brief rain delay reduced the match to 17 overs a side. Aadithya V.K (1) retired out following a laborious 15-ball stay, paving the way for Hardik Raj to step in. Raj had an instant impact; taking down Kumar L.R for two fours and a six in the seventh over.

Rohit K. (19) was then scalped by K.C Cariappa, bringing Abhinav Manohar to the crease with the score at 44/2 in 7.2 overs. Manohar looked menacing as he launched Shreesha Achar for two maximums before Achar scalped him in the same over.

A stellar piece of fielding from Kumar LR ran out Hardik Raj. Coming in next, Shivraj fired instantly, clobbering three consecutive sixes in his first three balls, off Achar in the 13th. Shivraj struck another boundary before he was dismissed by K.C Cariappa. His 24 runs came in only six deliveries.

In the penultimate over, Ullal (6) was dismissed by Kumar LR. Meanwhile, Dhruv Prabhakaran (14) batted fiercely taking down Kaverappa for three boundaries, but Kaverappa would dismiss him in the final over. Aditya Mani (5*) and Pradeep T. (9*) remained unbeaten as the Shivamogga Lions finished with 137/8 in 17 overs.

Brief scores:

Shivamogga Lions 137/8 in 17 overs (Rohit Kumar 19, Hardik Raj 35, S. Shivraj 24; KC Cariappa 2-30) lost to (2nd innings reduced to 5 overs, target 51) Hubli Tigers 51/2 in 4.2 overs (Mohd Taha 35; Pradeep T. 2-14) by 8 wickets (VJD Method).