Taha stars as Hubli Tigers edge Bengaluru Blasters by 2 wickets in last-ball thriller

MYSURU: Mohammed Taha’s ferocious second consecutive century and Shivkumar Rakshith’s explosive finish lifted the Hubli Tigers to a remarkable last-over victory against the Bengaluru Blasters in the Shriram Capital Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium.

Chasing a season-high 226 after Rohan Patil’s fluent 80 had headlined the Blasters’ innings, Taha’s 54-ball 101, laced with seven sixes and nine fours, was aided by Abhinav Manohar’s brisk 33 before Shivkumar Rakshith’s two sixes and a four in the final three balls sealed a stunning run chase, according to a release.

The Hubli Tigers set the tone early to finish the powerplay at 58/1. The in-form Mohd. Taha and Prakhar Chaturvedi (18) put on a brisk partnership of 54 runs before the latter was run-out in the sixth over. Mohsin Khan then struck twice in quick succession, removing Devdutt Padikkal (4) and Karthikeya KP (7) to check the Tigers’ momentum.

Taha brought up a 30-ball fifty and continued his sensational form striking Prateek Jain for two sixes and taking Vaibhav Sharma for two more. He was joined by Abhinav Manohar (33 off 17) and the pair saw the Tigers through the 150-run mark in just 14 overs.

Manohar looked to make light work of the chase with two fours and two sixes, but Naveen MG snapped him up in the 16th over with the equation asking for 53 runs in 27 balls. Taha’s tremendous effort came to an end after a phenomenal catch by Vidyadhar Patil at deep-point off the bowling off Prateek Jain, setting up a thrilling finish.

Manvanth Kumar (18 off 9) and Samarth Nagraj (12 off 9) looked on track to finish proceedings, but a frugal penultimate over from Vidyadhar Patil that included the wicket of Manvanth left the Tigers needing 17 runs off the final over. Shivkumar Rakshith (18 off 6) hammered two sixes and a four in the final three balls to secure a thrilling victory for the Hubli Tigers.

Openers Chethan LR (23 off 16) and Rohan Patil (80 off 43) gave the Blasters an electric start with 72 runs in the powerplay. Though Chethan fell to Ritesh Bhatkal in the fourth over, Rohan Patil dominated the phase including two fours and two sixes off Samarth Nagaraj in the sixth over that conceded 30 runs and three no-balls.

Rohan Patil kept his foot on the accelerator, combining with Mayank Agarawal (9 off 6) for 47 runs in only 17 balls. His fluent stroke play was on full display as he continued to find boundaries at will, racing to 82 runs until he would become Punja’s second victim of the afternoon to leave the Blasters at 149/4 in 13.3 overs.

The Blasters’ onslaught was briefly derailed as they lost two wickets in quick succession. Shubhang Hegde (9 off 12), donning captain duties for the day, was outfoxed by KC Cariappa in the 17th over. In the next over, Punja also scalped Suraj Ahuja (27 off 19) after he had made a valuable contribution.

While it looked like the Tigers had done well to hold the Blasters around the 200-run mark, the duo of Naveen MG (27 off 11) and Rohan Naveen (24 off 7) carved 54 runs in the final 17 deliveries. Naveen MG smashed three fours and two sixes while Rohan Naveen smoked three sixes and a four in the final over to propel the Blasters to 225/6 – a season record. (ANI)