Maharaja Trophy: Sisodia, Shiva Kumar take Hubli Tigers to 8-wicket win against Shivamogga Strikers

Bengaluru Aug 19 (IANS) Captain Luvnith Sisodia cracked a brilliant half-century and so did B.U. Shiva Kumar as the Hubli Tigers put on quite a show against the Shivamogga Strikers on Friday, winning by 8 wickets.

The stars of the day would have also been motivated by the presence of IPL scouts from Chennai Super Kings, KKR and Lucknow Super Giants at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Batting first, the Strikers' opening pair of Sharath B.R. and Stallin Hoover got off to a great start, making good use of the gaps in the powerplay during a solid partnership. The duo were scoring at a good rate, close to 9 runs an over, as they put on a stand of 78 runs before Hoover (38) became the first wicket to fall at the start of the 10th over.

Sharath (36) departed in the over after that and was followed by Desmond Antony (7), as the Strikers had a bit of a wobble. Siddharth (23), however, was doing all he could to keep up the scoring rate, before he too made the long walk back to the hut.

In the middle-order, Chaitanya S. added 32 runs to the cause to help the Strikers close out the innings with the score at 146/5, the organisers informed in a release.

Chasing what looks like a tricky target, the Hubli Tigers' openers B.U. Shiva Kumar and Luvnith Sisodia were in prime form, thwarting the Strikers' bowling and staying ahead of the required run rate.

Scoring at a brisk rate, the openers ensured that the Strikers would not be able to pick the early wickets, driving the score to 49/0 in 6 overs. From then on in, the duo kept chipping away with Sisodia bringing up his half-century in style, with a monster six in the 11th over of the innings. Sisodia though could get on 62 and was the first to depart after the openers had put on a century stand.

Soon after, Abhimanyu Mithun (1) was dismissed before Shiva Kumar got to his half-century, as the Tigers approached the finish line. Shiva Kumar had Liyan Khan for company, and the duo wasted in completing the task.

Brief scores: Shivamogga Strikers 146/5 in 20 overs (Stallin Hoover 38, Sharath BR 36, Chaitanya S 32, Siddharth 23; V Koushik 2/29, BU Shiva Kumar 1/17) beat Hubli Tigers 149/2 in 17.2 overs (Luvnith Sisodia 62, BU Shiva Kumar 61, Liyan Khan 19; K Gowtham 1/34).