Bengaluru: Shivamogga Lions’ woes continued as they suffered a 28-run defeat to Mysore Warriors in the KSCA Maharaja Trophy T20 being held at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, here yesterday.

Mysore Warriors anchored by skipper Karun Nair’s (45) swift knock, supported by a few other good contributions in the middle order and a late-innings fireworks from J. Suchith (22 not out) and Manoj Bhandage (23) scored 179/7 in the allotted 20 overs. In the bowling front, Vidyadhar Patil (3/29) and C.A. Karthik (3/31) played crucial roles in restricting the Shivamogga Lions.  Pacer H.S. Sharath (4/29) lethal spell with the ball and valiant efforts from Abhinav Manohar (46) and Nihal Ullal (46) with the bat couldn’t turn the tide in Shivamogga’s favour.

Chasing 180, Shivamogga Lions got off to a disastrous start with Vidyadhar Patil’s lethal first over leading to the dismissals of Mohith (2) and Dheeraj Mohan (0) in consecutive deliveries. Skipper Nihal Ullal (46) managed to crack a few early boundaries but Hardik Raj (17) was also removed by K. Gowtham, leaving the Lions reeling at 41/3 by the end of the powerplay.

K. Gowtham then engineered the run out of Rohan Naveen (11), further denting the chase. The in-form Abhinav Manohar, who came in as an impact player, joined Nihal Ullal and the duo breathed life into the innings, putting together a 70-run partnership in just 43 balls.

However, Ullal fell short of his first half-century of the season, leaving the Shivamogga Lions at 123/5 in 15.1 overs. Abhinav Manohar also narrowly missed his milestone, holing out to K. Gowtham off C.A. Karthik.

C.A. Karthik struck again two deliveries later, dismissing S. Shivraj and leaving the Lions in deep trouble. With 47 runs needed from the final 18 balls, D. Ashok tried to keep the chase alive by smashing a six and a four off Vidyadhar Patil, but perished in the same over, effectively ending Shivamogga’s prospects. The Shivamogga Lions finished at 151/9 in 20 overs, enduring their sixth consecutive loss.

Brief Scores

Mysore Warriors 179/7 in 20 overs (C.A. Karthik 30, Karun Nair 45, Sumit Kumar 28 runs, H.S. Sharath HS 4/29) beat Shivamogga Lions 151/9 in 20 overs (Nihal Ullal 46, Abhinav Manohar 46, Vidyadhar Patil 3/29, C.A. Karthik 3/31).

Today’s Matches (Aug. 23)

Bengaluru Blasters Vs Hubli Tigers                          3 pm

Mangaluru Dragons Vs Gulbarga Mystics              7 pm

Venue: M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru

Catch the live action on Star Sports Kannada, Star Sports 2; Live streaming on Fancode