[WATCH] Hubli Tigers captain Manish Pandey takes stunning catch against Mangaluru Dragons in the 2024 Maharaja Trophy T20

Hubli Tigers captain Manish Pandey took a stunning catch near the boundary line during his side's opening fixture of the ongoing 2024 Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 against Mangaluru Dragons. The game took place at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Friday, August 16. The incident happened on the last ball of the 16th over bowled by LR Kumar while Mangaluru's MB Darshan was on strike.

Hubli Tigers opener Thippa Reddy combined well with Pandey in completing the catch after the Hubli skipper threw the ball back onto the field well in time before stepping over the boundary line.

Here's a video of the catch:

Earlier in the rain-curtailed game, Pandey won the toss and opted to field first. The Dragons got off to a flyer adding 44 runs for the opening wicket in just four overs. Wicketkeeper batter Krishnamurthy Siddharth top-scored for his side with 44 off 27 balls, including three fours and as many sixes at a strike rate of 162.96.

Eventually, the Mangaluru Dragons finished their innings at 143-7 in 16 overs with Nikin Jose, Rohan Patil and Macneil Noronha also making useful contributions.

Defending champions Hubli Tigers begin their campaign on a winning note

With the heavens opening up yet again after Mangaluru's innings, the Hubli Tigers' revised target was 80 runs in seven overs (VJD method). Due to incessant rain when the scoreboard read 69-1 in 5.1 overs, the defending champions, who were 15 runs ahead of the VJD par score, thereby began their 2024 Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 campaign on a winning note. Hubli Tigers' Thippa Reddy, who scored 19* off 12 balls, was adjudged Player of the Match.

Meanwhile, the Mangaluru Dragons will be hoping to get off the mark when they go head-to-head against the Shivamogga Lions on Saturday (August 17) afternoon at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Manish Pandey's men will take on the Gulbarga Mystics at 7 PM IST on the same day.