143/0 (12.1)
CR : 11.75
139/6 (15.0)
CR : 9.27
Hubli Tigers won by 10 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Vaibhav Sharma-A
3/9
12.1
6
Kranthi Kumar to Mohammed Taha
SIX RUNS! Mohammed Taha finishes in style. Kranthi from over the wicket. Bowls it short at the fifth stump line. Taha gets some width to work with and he rides the bounce to get on top of that. Then he frees his arms and carves it over deep point for a maximum. Hubli Tigers needed a victory for a turn around and they have got it by completely obliterating the Gulbarga Mystics. They have won it by 10 wickets and with 17 balls to spare.
Over 13
Hubli Tigers 143/0
Mohammed Taha57(35)
Mayank Agarwal81(38)
Kranthi Kumar0-22(2.1)
HT won by 10 wickets
6:13 P.M. IST and Local Time: A clinical batting display from openers Mayank Agarwal and Mohammad Taha see the Hubli Tigers coast past the finish line with plenty of time to spare. As Vaibhav Sharma said during the mid-innings break, the Gulbarga Mystics were 20 runs short, and as it turns out, that is the case.
There was plenty of help off the wicket for pacers to begin with, and left-arm pacer Vaibhav Sharma made the most of it. Having been given the new ball from the other end, Vaibhav got the ball to play all sorts of tricks, accounting for Sharath BR and Lochan Gowda in his very first over.
The Mystics had a hint of momentum going their way in the powerplay as LR Kumar went for 16 in his first over, but Vaibhav, along with left-arm spinner Shikhar Shetty, pulled things back in the Tigers' favour. The Mystics ended with 30 runs in the powerplay - curtailed to 4.3 overs.
Thippa Reddy looked to accelerate after the sixth over, and was looking quite good while at it. He took on his favoured match-ups successfully, ran hard alongside Manish Pandey, and got to a half-century of his own. A fumble from keeper Rakshith, though, resulted in his run out against the run of play, and it was up to Manish Pandey and Kranthi Kumar to deliver a good finish. They got the Mystics to 139 in their 15 overs, and the Mystics needed early wickets to be in the hunt.
The Mystics did not get early wickets - as it turned out, they didn't get a single wicket. The first over of the run-chase went for 16 as Mayank Agarwal and Mohammad Taha came out all guns blazing. Mayank led the initial onslaught, racing through to 29 off 11 in the first three overs. Mohammad Taha joined in shortly afterwards, and the Tigers had 49 on the board at the end of the powerplay.
The Tigers were well and truly in command of the chase following that. They navigated through the middle overs safely, and the fact that they didn't lose a single wicket in that phase meant that the openers could accelerate going into the latter phase of the innings. And so they did - both openers brought up half-centuries, and it was Mayank who teed away, finishing with 81 off 38. We'll bring the post-match interviews in a bit....
Macneil Noronha (Gulbarga Mystics Captain): "(It was not the kind of run chase you expected) Yes the credit goes to Mayank and Taha. They batted really well assessing the conditions. I think we have not bowled well. It is time for us to go back and discuss.
(On the batting of the Mystics) Me and Pandey were talking about being 10-15 runs short. But this kind of batting caught us off-guard. 10-15 runs more would have not been enough but still I think we were less. We could have 25-30 more on the board.
(Is there anything your bowlers could have done differently?) I think as per the conditions, we could have used the pace of the wicket. Sometimes it is your day, sometimes it is not. At the end of the day, we have to get ready for the next game."
(On the batting of the Mystics) Me and Pandey were talking about being 10-15 runs short. But this kind of batting caught us off-guard. 10-15 runs more would have not been enough but still I think we were less. We could have 25-30 more on the board.
(Is there anything your bowlers could have done differently?) I think as per the conditions, we could have used the pace of the wicket. Sometimes it is your day, sometimes it is not. At the end of the day, we have to get ready for the next game."
Time for the post-match presentations.
Player of the Match: Vaibhav Sharma
Mayank Agarwal (Hubli Tigers Captain): We really needed this win to get back some momentum and confidence.
(On the conditions at Hubli) We like playing here; it's home for us, we know the conditions, and I thought we really adapted to the conditions and put in a good show.
(On stepping up as an experienced player) When the chips are down, you want your experienced and top players to come down and put in a performance. That's what I was thinking: I need to lead the charge and put in a match-winning performance. Glad that Taha and I could contribute to the team's win.
(On batting with Mohammad Taha) Both of us have batted a lot together, and it worked out in this game. Feels nice to get two points from this game, and now we regroup and look forward to the next game.
(On using the left-arm spinners) They have a lot of right-handers in the team, so we thought the left-arm spinners would be a good match-up. With one side having a lot of wind, one of them had to take some pressure, thought Shikhar Shetty did that well. It became a lot easier for the other two.
(On the conditions at Hubli) We like playing here; it's home for us, we know the conditions, and I thought we really adapted to the conditions and put in a good show.
(On stepping up as an experienced player) When the chips are down, you want your experienced and top players to come down and put in a performance. That's what I was thinking: I need to lead the charge and put in a match-winning performance. Glad that Taha and I could contribute to the team's win.
(On batting with Mohammad Taha) Both of us have batted a lot together, and it worked out in this game. Feels nice to get two points from this game, and now we regroup and look forward to the next game.
(On using the left-arm spinners) They have a lot of right-handers in the team, so we thought the left-arm spinners would be a good match-up. With one side having a lot of wind, one of them had to take some pressure, thought Shikhar Shetty did that well. It became a lot easier for the other two.
Time for us to wrap up our coverage from the first T20 of the Monday double-header. Hubli Tigers were in desperate search of a victory as they came onto this encounter on the back of successive defeats and they got one in style! Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Taha did not let the Mystics' bowlers get a single breakthrough and remained unbeaten throughout the innings to seal the deal by 10 wickets and with 17 balls to spare.
Now we have another game lined up within just half an hour time. Shubhang Hegde-led Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters will lock horns with Karun Nair's Coastal Kings Mangaluru. The first ball will be bowled at 7 PM IST and Local Time. Do join us for that coverage.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Rajarshi Das and the scorer/analyst of this game Yogesh Kumar.
Now we have another game lined up within just half an hour time. Shubhang Hegde-led Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters will lock horns with Karun Nair's Coastal Kings Mangaluru. The first ball will be bowled at 7 PM IST and Local Time. Do join us for that coverage.
For now, this is Saptak Sanyal signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Rajarshi Das and the scorer/analyst of this game Yogesh Kumar.