Shivamogga Yodhas Secure Final Berth with Four-Wicket Win
Shivamogga Yodhas stormed into the final of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 after a comprehensive four-wicket victory over the Coastal Kings Mangaluru on Saturday. The Yodhas will now face Bengaluru Blasters in the title clash.
Dhanush Gowda's four-wicket haul and two wickets each from Shreesha Achar and Naveen MG restricted the Coastal Kings to 143/8 in 20 overs. Aneesh KV then anchored the chase with an unbeaten 55 off 39 balls, supported by Sujay Sateri's 31 off 25, guiding the Yodhas home in 18.4 overs.
Coastal Kings Innings: Karun Nair Top Scores
Opener Nikin Jose (34 off 25) gave the Kings a solid start before being dismissed by Shreesha Achar in the eighth over. Karun Nair played a measured knock of 41 off 31 balls, hitting one four and three sixes, to steer the innings through the middle overs. He added 39 runs with Shreyas Gopal (13 off 16) for the fourth wicket before Gopal fell to Achar.
At the 15-over mark, the Kings were 109/4 but quickly slumped to 123/8 in the 18th over. Dhanush Gowda returned to remove Karun Nair, Suraj Ahuja (9 off 10), and Rajvir Wadhwa (9 off 5) in quick succession. Prithviraj Shekhawat (12 off 10) added late runs to push the total to 143/8.
Yodhas Chase: Aneesh KV Leads the Way
In response, Santokh Singh struck twice early to give the Kings a promising start. He dismissed Luvnith Sisodia (14 off 13) and Tushar Singh (14 off 10), while Prithviraj removed Naveen MG to leave the Yodhas at 41/3 inside five overs.
Aneesh KV steadied the innings with a match-winning knock, cracking regular boundaries to stay ahead of the required run rate. He added 31 runs with Harshil Dharmani (13 off 14) before Prithviraj struck again in the 10th over. Sujay Sateri then joined Aneesh, who accelerated from 20 runs off 21 balls to bring up a 31-ball half-century. The pair's 70-run stand in 47 balls steered the Yodhas to victory with eight balls to spare.
Key Performances and Match Summary
Dhanush Gowda finished with figures of 4/21, while Shreesha Achar took 2/19 and Naveen MG 2/25. For the Kings, Santokh Singh claimed 3/30 and Prithviraj took 2 wickets. Aneesh KV's unbeaten 55 earned him the Player of the Match award.
Brief Scores: Shivamogga Yodhas 144/6 in 18.4 overs (Aneesh KV 55*, Sujay S 31; Santokh Singh 3/30) beat Coastal Kings Mangaluru 143/8 in 20 overs (Karun Nair 41, Nikin Jose 34; Dhanush Gowda 4/21, Shreesha Achar 2/19, Naveen MG 2/25) by 4 wickets.
