Hubballi, July 1 (IANS) Mysore Warriors held their nerve in a thrilling finish to defeat Coastal Kings Mangaluru by two wickets off the final ball in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament in Hubballi on Tuesday.

Needing seven runs from the final over, tail-end batter and wicketkeeper Yuvraj Arora produced a sensational finish, smashing an unbeaten 19 off just nine balls, including two sixes and a four, to guide the Warriors to only their second victory in seven matches. The win, while keeping them at the bottom of the table, took them to four points.

Meanwhile, Coastal Kings remain second in the standings with seven points, three behind leaders Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters.

Chasing a revised target of 162 in a rain-curtailed 19-over contest, the Warriors appeared firmly in control at 111 for three, thanks to a fluent 78-run partnership off just 42 balls between L R Chethan and Ritesh Bhatkal.

Chethan struck a brisk 37 off 20 balls, with five fours and a six, before his dismissal triggered a dramatic collapse. The Warriors lost three wickets in the space of five deliveries, allowing Coastal Kings to claw their way back into the contest.

Bhatkal, however, held one end together with a superb 66 off 39 balls, studded with eight fours and three sixes. After reaching his half-century, he immediately shifted gears by striking four successive boundaries to keep the chase on course.

Veteran leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal nearly turned the game on its head with a superb spell of 4 for 37, including two wickets in successive deliveries during the 17th over. His efforts, which also earned him the tournament’s Purple Cap with 11 wickets, ultimately proved insufficient as Arora kept his composure to complete a memorable chase.

Earlier, Coastal Kings posted a competitive total, built around captain Karun Nair’s fluent 48 off 27 balls, which included seven fours and a six.

Nair dominated a 47-run second-wicket partnership with opener Nikin Jose after the early dismissal of Aadharsh SJ, scoring 36 of those runs as Coastal Kings looked set for a much bigger total.

However, left-arm seamer Lavish Kaushal changed the complexion of the innings with a decisive spell. After conceding a boundary to Nair in the ninth over, Kaushal responded immediately by dismissing the Coastal Kings captain off the very next delivery before removing Suraj Ahuja to leave the innings wobbling at 78 for four.

Kaushal returned later to claim the prized wicket of the well-set Siddharth Akhil, who made 28 off 24 balls, finishing with impressive figures of 3 for 32.

Shreyas Gopal contributed a useful 22 before he was clean bowled by Manoj Bhandage as Coastal Kings finished with a total that ultimately fell just short.

Brief scores:

Coastal Kings Mangaluru 161 all out in 19 overs (Karun Nair 48, Siddharth Akhil 28, Shreyas Gopal 22; Lavish Kaushal 3-32) lost to Mysore Warriors 167/8 in 18.5 overs (Ritesh Bhatkal 66, L R Chethan 37, Yuvraj Arora 19 not out; Shreyas Gopal 4-37) by two wickets.

–IANS

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