Tigers crowned champs

Bengaluru: Mohammed Taha and skipper Manish Pandey scored half-centuries as Hubli Tigers prevailed over Mysore Warriors by eight runs to win the Maharaja Trophy T20 cricket tournament at the Chinnaswamy stadium here on Tuesday.Taha (72, 40b, 7x4, 4x6) figured in an 89-run, second-wicket partnership with Krishnan Shrijith (38) to take his team to 90 runs by the halfway mark. Later, Pandey (50n.o, 23b, 3x4, 4x6) was in a belligerent mood as he marshalled the lower order to ensure that Tigers scored 203 for eight in 20 overs, 75 of them coming in the final five overs.WARRIORS START WELLMysuru Warriors got off to a fine start, scoring 56 runs in the first five overs. After SU Karthik (28) left, skipper Karun Nair (37) and Ravikumar Samarth (63, 35b, 4x4, 4x4) took the total to 91-1 by the 10th over.manvanth comes goodWarriors stayed in the hunt in the second half of the chase but three quick wickets towards the end left them chasing 26 from the last two overs. Manvanth Kumar (3/32) bowled a brilliant final over, defending 12 runs while picking up two wickets even as Manish Pandey saved a certain six with a flying effort to help Tigers to victory.Brief scores: Hubli Tigers: 203/8 in 20 overs (Md Taha 72, Manish Pandey 50n.o, Krishnan Shrijith 38; CA Karthik 2-33) bt Mysuru Warriors: 195/8 in 20 overs (R Samarth 63, Karun Nair 37, SU Karthik 28; Manvanth Kumar 3-32, Vidhwath Kaverappa 2-40).