Maharaja Trophy: Mangaluru Dragons climb top of the table with nine-wicket win over Bengaluru Blasters

Mysore, Aug 24 (IANS) Mangaluru Dragons topple the Bengaluru Blasters by nine wickets at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium on Sunday to climb to the top of the table in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20.

The Dragons’ Shreyas Gopal (3-29) led the bowling attack in the first innings, helping contain the Blasters to 146/9 in 20 overs. In the second innings, Sharath BR (72* off 47) and Lochan Gowda (55 off 32) combined to post a 99-run partnership and place the Dragons well ahead of the equation, leading them to a comfortable 147/1 victory in 16.1 overs.

Lochan Gowda and Sharath BR began the chase for the Dragons with ease, racing to a 50-run partnership with just 25 balls. With Sharath BR (impact player) bagging four fours and one six, and Lochan securing two fours and one six, the Dragons were in a comfortable position with a tally of 67 runs at the end of the powerplay.

The pair showed no signs of slowing down, with Lochan Gowda completing his half ton in 30 balls with six fours and two sixes. Although he was caught soon after, off Rohan Raju (impact player), bringing an end to the 99-run partnership in 56 balls. The Blasters’ bowling contingent looked for an opportunity to topple another batsman, but Ashish Mahesh (16* off 19) played sensibly, rotating the strike and aiding Sharath BR post his half-century in 34 balls.

Sharath BR led the charge for the Dragons in the final overs and went on to clinch the victory comfortably in the 17th over, owing to his nine boundaries and one six.

Earlier in the day, Dragons’ Abhilash struck in the first over, sending Chethan LR (2 off 2) back to the pavilion. Rohan Patil (0 off 4) followed him in the next over, caught by Kranthi Kumar, off McNeil Norohna. Attempting to turn the tide, Mayank Agarawal (5 off 5) went for the boundary, but he too was caught off Abhilash, leaving the Blasters in a precarious situation. However, Bhuvan M Raju (25 off 24) and Shubhang Hegde (39 off 29) brought stability to the team with two boundaries each, bringing the blasters to 40/3 at the end of the powerplay.

Bhuvan M Raju was unable to sustain the partnership with Shubhang for long, being caught off Shreyas Gopal. Suraj Ahuja (36 off 26) filled his shoes, rotating strike to make it 64/4 for the Blasters after 10 overs. He went on to get a few boundaries of his own soon after, building a partnership of 44 runs off 32 balls with Shubhang Hegde. Sensing trouble for the Dragons, Shreyas Gopal struck again in the 14th over to get Shubhang caught at the boundary and Rohan Naveen (0 off 3) caught behind the wicket. Naveen MG (6 off 8) stepped in, helping the Blasters to 107/6 after 15 overs.

However, he was unable to hold his place at the crease for long, being caught off Sachin Shinde. The Dragons’ bowling contingent kept the pressure on the Blasters with Kranthi Kumar acrobatically deflecting a powerful low shot by Madhav P Bajaj (5* off 9) to run out Suraj Ahuja. Vidhyadhar Patil (25 off 9) stepped onto the pitch and raced to score one four and three sixes, helping the Blasters finish with 146/9 after 20 overs.

Brief scores: Bengaluru Blasters 146/9 in 20 overs (Shubhang Hegde 39, Suraj Ahuja 36; Shreyas Gopal 3-29) lost to Mangaluru Dragons 147/1 in 16.1 overs (Sharath BR 72, Lochan Gowda 55) by nine wickets.

--IANS

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