Bengaluru Blasters scored a thrilling six-wicket victory over Gulbarga Mystics in the Maharaja Trophy T20 opener. Chasing 202, Bhuvan Mohan Raju's 56 off 29 balls set the stage for a final-ball win, despite fifties from Gulbarga's batsmen.
Bengaluru Blasters scored a thrilling six-wicket victory over Gulbarga Mystics in the opening match of the DACSS Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament in Mysuru on Saturday.
Gulbarga Mystics Post Challenging 201
Batting first, Gulbarga posted a challenging 201 in their 20 overs with handsome contributions from Prakhar Chaturvedi (64, 38 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes) and Aarav Mahesh (63, 41 balls, 6 fours and 3 sixes), as per a release.
A contribution by captain Manish Pandey (19) and a 12-ball 20 by Thippa Reddy boosted the total past 200.
Shubhang Hegde and Shreevathsa Acharya claimed two wickets each for 44 and 36 runs respectively for Gulbarga.
Blasters Secure Victory in Thrilling Chase
In reply, Bengaluru Blasters started confidently with Bhuvan Mohan Raju and Rohan Patil adding 88 runs for the opening partnership in 7.1 overs. They rotated the strike with clever strokes and kept the target in check.
Bhuvan Mohan Raju's 29-ball 56 (3 fours, 4 sixes, strike rate 193.10) in the end became the fulcrum on which Bangalore Blasters built their victory run.
Though the Mystics bounced back with a couple of quick wickets to reduce the Blasters to 122 for three in 11.3 overs, the initial good work done by the openers worked in their favour as they eventually coasted to victory with the final delivery.
Decisive Partnerships Power the Chase
Krishnan Shrijith and Shubhang Hegde were instrumental in the drive towards the target as they stitched together a decisive partnership after the fall of the openers. Krishnan Shrijith made a 15-ball 22 (3 fours) and Shubhang Hegde a 26-ball 36 (2 fours, 1 six) to lead Bengaluru Blasters to a comfortable victory though the margin may convey of a close clash.
Praveen Dubey gave the contest the finishing touch with an amazing 17-ball 32 (2 fours, 1 six).
Paras Gurbax Arya was the most successful bowler for Gulbarga with figures of 2 for 34 while Macneil Noronha and Dhruv Prabhakar claimed a wicket each for 27 and 29 runs respectively.
Brief Scores
Brief scores: Gulbarga Mystics 201-5 in 20 overs (Lochan Gowda 17, Prakhar Chaturvedi 64, Aarav Mahesh 63, Manish Pandey 19, Tippa Reddy 20; Samit Dravid 1-31, Shubhang Hegde 2-44, Shreevathsa Acharya 2-36) lost to Bengaluru Blasters 202-4 in 20 overs (Bhuvan Mohan Raju 56, Rohan Patil 31, Krishnan Shrijith 22, Shubhang Hegde 36, Samit Dravid 11, Praveen Dubey 32 not out; Paras Gurbax Arya 2-34, Macneil Noronha 1-27, Dhruv Prabhakar 1-29).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)