The Mangaluru Dragons kicked off their Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 2025 campaign in style, defeating the Gulbarga Mystics by 33 runs at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadeyar Cricket Stadium in Mysore. A blistering knock from Macneil Noronha, who smashed 53 runs off just 28 deliveries with three fours and four sixes, laid the foundation for the Dragons’ 180/8. Later, skipper Shreyas Gopal and Kranthi Kumar’s three-wicket hauls ensured the Mystics fell well short of the target.
Earlier, the Mystics’ bowling was spearheaded by Prithviraj with superb figures of 3/21, while Vyshak Vijaykumar and Monish Reddy claimed two wickets each. Gopal also made a useful contribution of 20 runs, helping his side navigate the death overs.
“𝑾𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒓,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝑺𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒚𝒂𝒔 𝑮𝒐𝒑𝒂𝒍 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉.
Mystics Falter in Run Chase
The Mystics’ chase started with a bang as Luvnith Sisodia (26) hammered three fours and a six in the very first over. However, Gopal turned the tide in the fourth over by dismissing both Sisodia and Nikin Jose (11), reducing the Mystics to 39/2. Noronha struck next, trapping Smaran R (11) in the seventh over.
The middle order collapsed quickly, with Mohit BA (12) and Praveen Dubey (7) departing in quick succession to leave Gulbarga struggling at 85/5 in the 13th over. A 30-run stand between Prajwal Pavan (25) and Vyshak (12) offered brief resistance, but the latter’s dismissal in the 15th over by Kranthi Kumar crushed their hopes. Pavan’s run out in the 16th over all but sealed the contest, and with 71 runs needed off the last five overs, the Mystics were bowled out for 147 in 19.5 overs.
Explosive Start for the Mangaluru Dragons’ Batting
Batting first, Mangaluru got off to a flying start with Lochan Gowda (27) smashing 18 runs in the opening over, including a six off the first ball. Sharath BR (16) kept the momentum going before both openers fell in the sixth over, leaving the Dragons at 60/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Noronha then took charge, adding 32 runs with Aneesh KV (9) before launching a brutal assault on Shashi Kumar, scoring 19 runs in the 13th over. He brought up his half-century in just 26 balls before Prithviraj removed him in the 14th over. The Mangaluru Dragons reached 140/5 after 15 overs, but could only add 40 more in the final five, with Gopal’s 20-run cameo providing late impetus.
Vyshak struck twice in the closing stages, dismissing Shivraj S (9) and Pallav Kumar Das (11), as Mangaluru ended on 180/8.
“𝑴𝒂𝒄𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒍’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒆𝒙𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚,” 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒓𝒖 𝑫𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎’𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕.
Brief Scores:
Mangaluru Dragons: 180/8 in 20 overs (Macneil Noronha 53, Lochan Gowda 27, Shreyas Gopal 20; Prithviraj 3/21, Vyshak Vijaykumar 2/28, Monish Reddy 2/39)
Gulbarga Mystics: 147/10 in 19.5 overs (Luvnith Sisodia 26, Prajwal Pavan 25; Shreyas Gopal 3/30, Kranthi Kumar 3/36)
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