Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20: Bengaluru Blasters climb to top of table with 7-wicket victory over Shivamogga Lions

MYSURU: The Bengaluru Blasters notched up a comfortable 7-wicket victory over Shivamogga Lions to register back-to-back wins in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium on Thursday.

Electing to bowl first, the Blasters restricted the Lions to 111/9 in 20 overs, with Madhav P Bajaj (4/12) and Naveen M G (3/30) doing the bulk of the damage. In reply, Rohan A Patil smashed an unbeaten 74 off 45 balls to seal the chase with 32 balls to spare, as per a press release from Karnataka Sports Cricket Association (KSCA).

The Lions’ innings never got going after Dhruv P (0) and Sanjay Ashwin C (1) fell inside two overs to Hegde and Naveen. Skipper Nihal Ullal (14) and Aneeshwar Gautam (23) tried to stabilise, but the scoreboard read only 25 at the end of the powerplay. Aneeshwar briefly lifted the scoring with four boundaries before holing out in the eighth over, while Ullal departed soon after, leaving the Lions at 44 for 3 after 10 overs.

Hardik Raj (13) was next to fall as Bajaj struck again, before Anirudha A Joshi (19) hit the first six of the innings in the 16th over. Any hopes of revival ended when Bajaj removed Joshi and Ashok D (0) off consecutive balls. Naveen returned to pick up Avinash D (12) and Vasuki Kaushik (1), leaving only Dhuri’s 18 off 12 to push the Lions to 111/9.

It was a tentative start to the Blasters’ innings with Mayank Aggarwal (0) losing his wicket to Koushik V in the first over, followed by Chethan L R (1) falling to Dhruv P in the next over. However, Rohan A (74) kept the runs flowing for the Blasters with occasional boundaries. His seven fours and three sixes acted as an anchor, propelling the Blasters’ tally to 48 runs at the end of the powerplay and giving them some room to breathe. Despite Bhuvan M Raju’s (14) best efforts, he was unable to get going on the day and form a partnership with Rohan, losing his wicket to Avinash D in the 10th over.

Rohan found his rhythm and kept going at the Lions’ bowlers, bringing up his half-century in 31 balls. Suraj Ahuja (20) joined him on the pitch and contributed with a boundary of his own, bringing the team’s total to 90, after 12 overs. The Blasters were well in control of the game with Rohan leading the charge, cruising to a seven-wicket victory with 32 deliveries to spare, the KSCA press release added.

Brief Scores: Shivamogga Lions 111/9 in 20 overs (Aneeshwar Gautam 23, Aniruddha Joshi 19; Madhav P Bajaj 4/12) vs Bengaluru Blasters 117/3 in 14.4 overs (Rohan Patil 74*, Suraj Ahuja 20; Vasuki Koushik 1/9). (ANI)