After a crucial victory against Kalyani Bengaluru Blasters in the Maharani Trophy KSCA T20 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Tuesday, Hubli Tigers’ captain Vrinda Dinesh credited her side’s batting prowess as it rose to the top of the table with one match remaining.

After a 17-run victory against Mysore Warriors at the start of the tournament, the Tigers lost two consecutive matches to the Gulbarga Mystics and Blasters.

However, Vrinda & Co. turned their season around by winning the reverse fixtures against the Warriors and Blasters back-to-back.

“It was just about timing. We just had to click early on and the [twin victories] turned the momentum for us,” Vrinda told The Hindu as she alluded to the team’s patience in coming back strong after two losses.

The right-handed batter, alongside Niki Prasad and C. Prathyoosha, has been pivotal in Tigers’ recent victories. The 25-year-old has accumulated 170 runs at a tournament-leading strike rate of 170.

“As a team, we believe batting is our strength, and our bowling can defend any target,” the skipper stated. “In batting, we believe it’s Prathyoosha, me or Niki. If one of us is there throughout the 20 overs, the team will sail through.”

Vrinda also commended the role of the Tigers’ support staff in helping her improve as a leader.

“There’s something to learn in every game. There have been certain moments where they’ve told me, ‘you could’ve done something differently’ or something was really well done. These insights have helped me get better.”

With the Tigers now in a good position to qualify for Sunday’s final, Vrinda is focused on staying composed rather than looking too far ahead.

“Everybody in the team knows their roles, and it’s just about showing up on that particular day,” she signed off.

Bengaluru Blasters recorded a last-gasp victory over Gulbarga Mystics in the opening match of the DACSS Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament at Mysuru on Saturday.

Blasters needed 11 runs to win in the final over bowled by Kranthi Kumar, with captain Shubhang Hegde and Praveen Dubey at the crease. Shubhang eased the pressure with a boundary off the second ball. With one needed off the final delivery, Praveen got the job done.

Batting first, Mystics posted a challenging 201 for five with contributions from Prakhar Chaturvedi (64, 38b, 6×4, 4×6) and Aarav Mahesh (63, 41b, 6×4, 3×4).

In reply, Blasters started confidently with Bhuvan Raju (56, 29b, 3×4, 4×6) and Rohan Patil (31, 24b, 3×4, 2×6) adding 88 runs for the opening partnership in 7.1 overs.

Mystics bounced back with a couple of quick wickets to reduce the Blasters to 122 for three in 11.3 overs.

K.L. Shrijith (22, 15b, 3×4), Shubhang and Praveen then took over to ensure a Blasters’ victory.

The scores: Gulbarga Mystics 201/5 in 20 overs (Prakhar Chaturvedi 64, Aarav Mahesh 63) lost to Bengaluru Blasters 202/4 in 20 overs (Bhuvan Raju 56).