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Key Points

Mangaluru Dragons put on a clinical display to climb to the top of the Maharaja Trophy table. Their bowlers, led by Shreyas Gopal's three wickets, restricted Bengaluru Blasters to 146/9. The chase was dominated by a spectacular 99-run opening partnership between Sharath BR and Lochan Gowda. Sharath's unbeaten 72 guided the Dragons to a comfortable 9-wicket victory with nearly four overs to spare.

Key Points: Mangaluru Dragons Top Table After Dominant 9-Wicket Win Over Blasters

  • Shreyas Gopal takes 3/29 to restrict Blasters to 146/9
  • Sharath BR remains unbeaten on 72 off 47 balls
  • Lochan Gowda smashes rapid 55 off just 32 deliveries
  • 99-run opening partnership sets up comfortable chase in 16.1 overs
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Mangaluru Dragons climb top of the table with 9-wicket victory over Bengaluru Blasters

Shreyas Gopal's 3/29 and a 99-run partnership between Sharath BR (72*) and Lochan Gowda (55) power Mangaluru Dragons to a commanding victory over Bengaluru Blasters.

"The pair showed no signs of slowing down, with Lochan Gowda completing his half ton in 30 balls - Match Report"

Mysuru, August 24

Mangaluru Dragons topple the Bengaluru Blasters by 9 wickets to climb to the top of the table in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium today. 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, as per a release from KSCA.

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 positing with a tally of 67 runs at the end of 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 lead 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 stuck 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 powerplay.

Although, 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 to on 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.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rohit P
Shreyas Gopal's bowling made all the difference! 3 wickets and controlling the middle overs perfectly. Bengaluru's batting lineup just couldn't handle the pressure. Great team effort from Dragons! 🏏
P
Priya S
That 99-run partnership between Sharath and Lochan was pure entertainment! They complemented each other so well. Lochan's aggressive start and Sharath's sensible finishing - perfect combo! 💪
M
Michael C
As a neutral fan, I must say the Dragons' bowling attack was exceptional. They never let Blasters build momentum. Abhilash's early breakthroughs set the tone for the entire match.
A
Ananya R
Blasters' top order collapse cost them the game. Losing 3 wickets in powerplay is always tough to recover from. They need to work on their opening partnerships before the next match.
V
Vikram M
Vidhyadhar Patil's cameo at the end for Blasters was impressive! 25 off 9 balls with three sixes showed some fight. But the total was always going to be too less against Dragons' batting lineup.

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