Maharaja Trophy: Noronha's fifty guide Mangaluru Dragons to 33-run victory over Gulbarga Mystics

Mysuru, Aug 11 (IANS) The Mangaluru Dragons began their campaign at the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, with a 33-run victory over the Gulbarga Mystics at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Cricket Stadium.

Macneil Noronha’s fiery half-century of 53 runs, studded with three fours and four sixes, powered the Dragons to 180/8 before skipper Shreyas Gopal and Kranthi Kumar’s three-wicket hauls sealed the result.

Earlier in the day, the Mystics’ bowling attack was led by Prithviraj, who returned impressive figures of 3/21, while Vyshak Vijaykumar and Monish Reddy picked up two wickets each. Shreyas Gopal also made a handy contribution of 20 runs to steer the Dragons through the death overs.

The Mystics’ run chase was off to a flying start as Luvnith Sisodia (26) struck three fours and a six in the very first over. Shreyas Gopal, however, halted the onslaught with the wickets of Sisodia and Nikin Jose (11) in the fourth over to leave the Mystics at 39/2.

Smaran R (11) struck two crisp boundaries before Noronha pinged him on the pads in the seventh over. The target moved farther away as Mohit BA (12) and Praveen Dubey (7) followed soon after, leaving the Mystics struggling at 85/5 in 12.2 overs.

Prajwal Pavan (25) and Vyshak (12) combined to put on 30 runs and keep the Mystics in the fight, but Vyshak was dismissed by Kranthi Kumar in the 15th over. The Mystic’s prospects dwindled further when Pavan Prajwal was also dismissed (run out) in the 16th over.

With 71 needed from the final five overs, the target proved too steep, and the Mystics finished short at 147/10.

Mangaluru Dragons began their innings in explosive fashion as Lochan Gowda (27) hammered 18 runs in the opening over, starting with a six off the first ball and adding two boundaries. Sharath BR (16) kept the momentum going, though Vyshak Vijaykumar gave as little as eight runs in his first two overs. Prithviraj ended the partnership in the sixth over by dismissing Lochan, and the very next ball saw Sharath BR run out. Dragons finished the powerplay at 60/2.

Macneil Noronha (53) and Aneesh KV (9) added 32 runs before Aneesh was bowled by Prithviraj. Noronha, in exquisite touch, took on Shashi Kumar for 19 runs in the 13th over and raced to a half-century off 26 balls. His innings ended in the 14th over as Prithviraj claimed his third wicket of the afternoon.

Adarsh Prajwal (18), who had earlier smashed two consecutive sixes off Praveen Dubey to announce his intent, departed soon after, caught behind off Monish Reddy. At the 15-over mark, the Dragons were 140/5.

In the death overs, the Dragons could add only 40 runs, though skipper Shreyas Gopal (20) chipped in with a valuable contribution. Vyshak struck twice, removing Shivraj S (9) and Pallav Kumar Das (11), as the Dragons finished on 180/5.

--IANS

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