The league phase of the Maharaja Trophy T20 ended on Thursday with Gulbarga Mystics defeating Hubli Tigers by four wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
The semifinal fixtures were already confirmed before the match with both teams already qualified. Bengaluru Blasters will take on Gulbarga Mystics in the first semifinal on Friday while Mysore Warriors will take on Hubli Tigers in the second semifinal on Saturday.
The match saw a sizzling century from KL Shrijith (100*) that steered Hubli Tigers to 179/7 despite Monish Reddy’s figures of 4/32 for the Mystics.
Put into bat first, the Hubli Tigers scored 46 runs in the powerplay for the loss of two wickets. Kruthik Krishna (1) was dismissed by Vyshak Vijaykumar in the second over while Taha (35) smashed four boundaries and two sixes before he holed out to Prithviraj Shekhawat at deep square leg, off Monish Reddy in the fifth
KL Shrijith (100*) and Aneeshwar Gautam’s (9) partnership looked menacing, earning 14 runs in the seventh over before Abhishek Prabhakar removed Aneeshwar Gautam in the ninth over. Karthikeya KP struggled as well, picked up by Prithviraj Shekhawat in the thirteenth over, leaving Hubli at 95/4.
Shrijith brought up his half century in 32 deliveries, including seven boundaries and a six. The next milestone would come even quicker. Shrijith took Abhishek Prabhakar down for two fours and a six in succession, followed by three consecutive boundaries off Shekawat, eventually reaching a 51-ball century. He hit 14 fours and cleared the ropes thrice on his way as Hubli Tigers posted 179/7.
