A T20 league full of surprises. When most of the cricket fraternities discussed some of the big names related to the Hubli Tigers vs Shivamogga Lions (HT vs SL) Match 3 of the ongoing Maharaja Trophy T20 2025, out of nowhere, Mohammed Taha emerged as man of the match with a stunning century, the first century of the ongoing campaign.
Who is Mohammed Taha?
The regional franchise-based leagues are mainly set for the local talents, who can get a stage to show their cricketing skills. Along with experienced, established batters, these types of tournaments have become essential for emerging cricketers too. But Taha is not someone for whom we can use the words “young” and “exciting.” He is over thirty, 31 years old, and was once considered a highly talented batter but never achieved the heights Taha could get. The cricketer from Bengaluru played his first T20 match for Karnataka in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy back in 2016, against Services, where he lost his wicket without scoring a run.
According to stats, he played his last T20 game for his state against Tamil Nadu during an Interstate Twenty-20 Tournament. In that match, Taha again failed to impress and went back to the pavilion after scoring only 5 off 6. During his tenure with the state team, he shared a dressing room with international stars like Mayank Agarwal, Karun Nair, and Vijay Kumar. Mohammed Taha emerged as a promising opener but was somehow never able to justify his talent. For the Maharaja Trophy T20 2024, the top-order batter was with Hubli Tigers, played some crucial knocks, but was not consistent enough.
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Hubli Tigers vs Shivamogga Lions match summary
Taha’s century was the main attraction of the game. He pulled out a 101-run innings, facing 53 balls, powered by ten 4s and six 6s. Hubli Tigers skipper Devdutt Padikkal chipped in with a 52-run knock. The 100-run partnership between these two batters set the tone for HT. After the departure of Padikkal, Krishnan Shrijith (27 off 17) joined Taha to stitch a 90-run partnership. Batting first, Hubli Tigers put up a handsome total of 216, losing only 4 wickets in the process. Vidhwath Kaverappa took a couple of wickets for Shivamogga Lions.
Chasing a target over two hundred was too much for SL. After losing three top-order batters in the first 5 overs, Aniruddha Joshi and Aneeshwar Gautam (32) took a chance to turn the table. Joshi remained not out for 79 but could not save Shivamogga from a defeat. In the second innings, they got 187 after losing 6 wickets, and Hubli Tigers won the contest by 29 runs.
