Maharaja Trophy: Pravin Dubey fireworks seal last-ball win for Gulbarga Mystics over Mysore Warriors

Mysore, Aug 20 (IANS) Pravin Dubey thumped seven sixes under pressure, including one of the last ball to pull off a mammoth seven-wicket victory over the Mysore Warriors at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20. KV Siddharth (49* off 34) and Smaran R. (38 off 24) made vital contributions to set up the platform for Dubey’s antics in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Venkatesh M. (93* off 53) and Yashovardhan Parantap (48 off 24) had taken the Mysore Warriors to a formidable total of 209/5 after a sluggish start.

Luvnith Sisodia (37 off 13) hit K. Gowtham for four sixes in the first four balls of the innings to give the Mystics a thunderous start of 67/1 in the powerplay. The 52-run stand between Sisodia and Nikin Jose was broken by Gautam Mishra (impact player) in the fourth over. Jose had accumulated 21 runs when he retired hurt in the seventh over. Pavan Prajwal (7 off 12) perished next, trapped LBW by Shikar Shetty in the 8th over.

With a climbing asking rate, Smaran R. and K.V. Siddharth took charge with a 66-run stand in 40 balls. Smaran was eventually caught at deep mid-wicket, removed by Karthik C.A. in the 15th over to leave the Mystics at 140/3.

Pravin Dubey (53 off 19) provided the late innings fireworks to overcome a target of 69 runs in the final five overs. He launched Gautam Mishra for two sixes in the 16th and three in the 18th over to blunt the equation to 22 runs off 12 balls. With three runs needed off the last ball, Dubey carved a six off Kumar L.R. (impact player) on the final ball to complete the heist.

Invited to bat first, the Mysore Warriors were in a world of trouble by the end of their Power-play at 37/3. Mystics’ Prithviraj Shekhawat castled Karthik S.U. in the first over, and Lavish Kaushal gave away little in the exchange for the wickets of Karthik C.A. (17 off 13) and Harshil Dharmani (11 off 11).

Venkatesh M. and skipper Manish Pandey (29 off 19) reinvigorated the innings. The pair put on a rapid partnership of 73 runs in only 38 balls, before Pandey fell to Shashikumar Kamble in the 12th over with the score at 110/4.

Venkatesh targeted the spinners, bringing up a vital half-century in 31 balls. He was joined by Yashovardhan Parantap (48 off 24), and the duo dominated the Mystics' bowling attack with a mammoth 91-run stand in 46 balls.

In the 17th over, Vyshak Vijaykumar was taken down for three sixes, two of which came from Parantap, marking the most lucrative over of the innings (21 runs). Parantap had smashed three fours and four sixes when he was snared by Monish Reddy in the final over. Venkatesh remained unbeaten with six fours and five sixes under his belt to propel the Warriors to 209/5 in 20 overs.

Brief scores:

Mysore Warriors 209/5 in 20 overs (Venkatesh M. 93 not out, Manish Pandey 29, Yashovardhan Parantap 48; Lavish Kaushal 2/25) lost to Gulbarga Mystics 213/3 in 20 overs (Pravin Dubey 53 not out, Luvnith Sisodia 37, Smaran R. 38, KV Siddharth 49 not out) by seven wickets.

--IANS

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