Samarth’s halfcentury trumps Sisodia’s ton
The Hindu
Mysore Warriors beat Hubli Tigers in Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, ending their winning streak. R. Samarth (73) & C.A. Karthik (29) starred for Warriors, while Luvnith Sisodia (105) top-scored for Tigers. Defending champs Gulbarga Mystics beat Mangalore Dragons, thanks to V. Vyshak's (2/31) & R. Smaran's (62 n.o.) performances. Monday's matches: Gulbarga Mystics vs. Shivamogga Lions; Bengaluru Blasters vs. Mangalore Dragons.
A first-rate chase from Mysore Warriors ended Hubli Tigers’ winning streak, as the latter lost its first match of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Sunday.
The Warriors’ six-wicket win was courtesy a fine half-century from R. Samarth (73, 42b, 6x4, 3x6), with able assistance from C.A. Karthik (29, 18b, 2x4, 2x6) and skipper Karun Nair (41, 25b, 1x4, 3x6).
Asked to bat first, the Tigers’ innings was propped up by a blistering century from opener Luvnith Sisodia (105, 62b, 7x4, 7x6). But his effort went in vain as apart from Manish Pandey (33, 21b, 3x4, 1x6) he didn’t receive much support, and the Hubballi side couldn’t cross the magic mark of 200.
In the day’s second contest, Mangalore Dragons was handsomely beaten by defending champion Gulbarga Mystics. The five-wicket triumph was made possible by V. Vyshak’s early blows (2/31) – for which he earned the player-of-the-match award – and middle-order batter R. Smaran’s unbeaten half-century (62 n.o., 42b, 3x4, 4x6).
Brief scores: Hubli Tigers 185/7 in 20 overs (Luvnith Sisodia 105, Manish Pandey 33, C.A. Karthik 4/50) lost to Mysore Warriors 188/4 in 18.5 overs (R. Samarth 73, C.A. Karthik 29, Karun Nair 41, Praveen Dubey 3/38); PoM: Samarth.
Mangalore Dragons 120/9 in 20 overs (Gaurav Dhiman 27) lost to Gulbarga Mystics 121/5 in 17.1 overs (R. Smaran 62 n.o.); PoM: V. Vyshak.
Monday’s matches: Gulbarga Mystics vs. Shivamogga Lions; Bengaluru Blasters vs. Mangalore Dragons.
Asian Games champion Avinash Sable opened his season in the 3000m steeple chase with a silver in the Portland Track Festival, a World Athletics Continental Tour bronze event, in Oregon on Saturday. He clocked 8:21.85s. Asian champion Parul Chaudhary took the bronze in the women’s 3000m steeple chase in a season-best 9:31.38s. Former Asian bronze medallist Sanjivani Jadhav struck gold in the women’s 10,000m in 32:22.77s, a time which was a second off her personal best, while Seema was sixth in 32:55.91s.