Bengaluru: The Mysuru Warriors produced a fine chase to hand the Hubli Tigers their first loss in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, beating them by six wickets with seven balls to spare.

CA Karthik (4/50 and 29), Ravikumar Samarth (73 off 42 balls) and Karun Nair (41 off 25 balls) were instrumental in taking the Mysuru Warriors to their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament. Luvnith Sisodia’s (105 runs off 63 balls) marvellous century in the first innings and Praveen Dubey's spell of 3/38 was unable to maintain the Hubli Tigers’ winning streak.

Invited to bat by the Mysuru Warriors, Hubli Tigers’ Luvnith Sisodia picked up from where he left off the previous night as they reached a total of 44-1 by the end of the powerplay despite the fall of opener Md. Taha (6) to CA Karthik’s bouncer in the fourth over.

After a partnership of 50 in 37 balls with Luvnith Sisodia, Naga Bharath (12) was dismissed by off-spinner Shashi Kumar bringing skipper Manish Pandey (33) to the crease. Sisodia crossed the half-century mark for the third time in the tournament, getting there in 35 balls with five fours and two sixes to his name. Pandey and Sisodia were relentless with the Mysuru bowlers as they stitched a 92-run partnership in just 49 balls during which Sisodia brought up his century that came in only 59 balls.

Pandey eventually fell to CA Karthik in the 18th over but that didn’t halt the flow of boundaries as Praveen Dubey (16) struck a couple of sixes before he was dismissed by Manoj Bhandage in the penultimate over. Luvnith Sisodia was finally hit wicket after having scored 105 runs from 63 balls, comprising seven fours and seven sixes. BA Mohith (0) was out first ball before Manvanth Kumar (5) was run out off the final delivery as the Hubli Tigers finished on 185-7 from their quota of 20 overs, with Karthik finishing as the best bowler for Mysuru with figures of 4-50.

According to a release, the Mysuru Warriors, in reply, went berserk scoring 68 runs in their powerplay that saw seven fours and four maximums before CA Karthik (29) was dismissed by Praveen Dubey off the final ball of the sixth over to bring skipper Karun Nair (41) to the crease.

Ravikumar Samarth (73 off 42 deliveries) went on to bring up his half-century in 26 balls in the ninth over with a six off pacer Santokh Singh. The two kept the momentum going, taking the total to 102-1 at the halfway mark. Just as the match seemed to have completely slipped away from the Hubli Tigers with the score reading 143-1 in 14 overs, Praveen Dubey got rid of Karun Nair and KS Lankesh (0) off successive deliveries while Samarth was sent packing by a brilliant run out from Hubli skipper Manish Pandey in the same over.

With the Mysuru Warriors requiring 42 runs off the final five overs, the partnership of Shoaib Manager (21*) and Shivkumar Rakshith (22*) ensured that they reached the target in 18.5 overs with six wickets in hand, to end the Hubli Tigers’ unbeaten run in the tournament.

Brief Scores: Hubli Tigers 185-7 in 20 overs: (Luvnith Sisodia 105, Manish Pandey 33, Praveen Dubey 16, CA Karthik 4-50, Shashi Kumar 1-25, Manoj Bhandage 1-28) vs Mysuru Warriors 188-4 in 18.5 overs: (Ravikumar Samarth 73, Karun Nair 41, CA Karthik 29, Praveen Dubey 3-38).