Mysore, Aug 17 (IANS) Chethan LR struck a fluent 74 off 46 balls as Bengaluru Blasters ended Mangaluru Dragons’ unbeaten run in the Maharaja Trophy with a three-wicket victory in a rain-affected clash in the competition on Sunday.

With the match reduced to 19 overs a side due to rain, Dragons’ in-form opening batters Lochan Gowda (49) and Sharath BR (45) produced a blistering 90-run partnership off 45 balls to lay the platform.

The duo smashed 82 runs in a rain-shortened 5.4-over powerplay, the highest score in this phase of the season, before Mohsin Khan (2/26) pegged them back by removing the openers. Prateek Jain (2/45) also chipped in by removing Macneil Noronha and Aadarsh Prajwal while Thippa Reddy fell to Naveen MG as dragons were left in trouble at 121/4 in 13.4 overs.

A late surge from Shivaraj S (33 not out off 15 balls) carried them to 174/6, but the total proved insufficient against a Blasters batting line-up that capitalised on Chethan’s dominance at the top.

Chethan and Rohan Patil (26 off 13 balls) powered the Blasters to 69/1 by the end of the powerplay. Though Patil fell lbw to Noronha in the fifth over, but Chethan carried on in fluent fashion, reaching a 30-ball half-century with ease.

Mayank Agarwal’s breezy 20 off nine balls, laced with three fours and a six, ended at the hands of Sachin Shinde before Bhuvan Raju (14) combined with Chethan in a 55-run stand to steady the middle overs. Bhuvan’s dismissal to skipper Shreyas Gopal in the 13th over left the Blasters at 129/3.

Suraj Ahuja chipped in with 21 off 12 in a quick partnership with Chethan, who was eventually removed by Shreevathsa Acharya in the 16th over. Despite a few nervy moments at the death, Naveen MG (4 not out) and Vidyadhar Patil (6 runs) knocked off the final runs in the last over to seal the win.

Brief Scores: Mangaluru Dragons 174/6 in 19 overs (Lochan Gowda 49, Sharath BR 45; Prateek Jain 2-45, Mohsin Khan 2-26) lost to Bengaluru Blasters 175/7 in 18.3 overs (Chethan LR 74, Rohan Patil 26; Kranthi Kumar 2-28) by three wickets (via VJD Method)

–IANS

nr/