Hubballi, June 30 (IANS) Shivamogga Yodhas scored a thrilling 1-run victory over Gulbarga Mystics via the VJD Method in a rain-interrupted match of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 in Hubballi on Tuesday.

After the target was revised to 128 in 12 overs from 181, Manish Pandey nearly pulled off a heist, slamming 36 runs in 13 balls (4 sixes, 1 four), including 23 runs in the final over. For the Yodhas, it was sweet revenge after having lost by a huge 95-run margin in the first-round match in Mysore.

With their third victory from seven matches, the Yodhas moved to fourth on six points while the Mystics, with their fourth loss, stayed third on the same number of points.

The Mystics kept losing wickets at regular intervals and eventually found themselves in a difficult situation, needing 39 runs from 12 balls and 26 from six. Besides Pandey, Macneil Noronha was the next highest scorer with 34 runs from 20 balls at the top of the order.

Put into bat first, the Yodhas reached a stiff 180-7 with two key partnerships and vital contributions from the top and lower-middle-order.

Explosive wicketkeeper-batter Luvnith Sisodia once again gave the Yodhas an aggressive start, adding a 29-ball 53 for the second wicket with Tushar Singh (35, 27 balls, 1 four, 3 sixes) after Macneil Noronha had dismissed the other opener, Naveen MG, off the third ball of the innings.

Sisodia continued his consistent run and took his tally to 273 runs with three half-centuries and a strike rate of over 163. Sisodia fell four balls before the end of the powerplay after scoring 31 runs in 18 balls, but by then he had set a good tempo and the Yodhas reached 63-2 at the end of six overs.

But Tushar Singh and captain Smaran Ravichandran (19, 19 balls, 2 fours) fell in quick succession, and the Yodhas were down to 105-5 in 12.1 overs. Sujay Sateri, however, came to the rescue at the right time to salvage the innings in the company of Yashovardhan Parantap (25, 19 balls, 2 fours).

Stroking the ball well and finding the boundaries at regular intervals, Sateri contributed an unbeaten 47 in the crucial 69-run sixth-wicket stand with Parantap that came off 44 balls. Dhruv Prabhakar, with 2-16, was the most successful bowler for the Mystics.

Brief scores:

Shivamogga Yodhas 180/7 in 20 overs (Luvnith Sisodia 31, Tushar Singh 35, Sujay Sateri 47 not out, Yashovardhan Parantap 25; Dhruv Prabhakar 2-16) bt Gulbarga Mystics 126/7 in 12 overs(Macneil Noronha 34, Manish Pandey 36 not out; Yashovardhan Parantap 2-34, Ambareesh K 2-33) by 1 run (VJD).

–IANS

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