Hubballi, July 4 (IANS) Praveen Dubey’s unbeaten 64 off 32 balls guided Bengaluru Blasters to a thrilling three-wicket victory over Hubli Tigers off the final ball of the match in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament in Hubballi on Friday.

Chasing 197, the Blasters recovered from an early collapse before holding their nerve to register their seventh win of the season and assure themselves of the top spot in the playoffs.

The Blasters were rocked early after slipping to 59/4 with two balls remaining in the powerplay as Shikhar Shetty and Vaibhav Sharma combined to put the chase on the back foot. Captain Shubhang Hegde (41 off 30) and Wahid Faizan Khan (25 off 18) steadied the innings with a crucial 39-run partnership before Dubey took charge with an unbeaten 64 off 32 balls, striking three fours and six sixes to seal victory dramatically.

The victory consolidated the Blasters’ position at the top of the table with 14 points from eight matches, while Hubli Tigers remained at the bottom with six points from eight outings.

Earlier, Hubli Tigers posted a competitive 196/6 after recovering from a difficult start. Reduced to 82/5 in the 12th over, the Tigers rebuilt through a vital 70-run stand between Abhinav Manohar (35 off 18) and Shivkumar Rakshith (50 not out off 28). Manvanth Kumar also played an important unbeaten knock of 28 off 11 balls as the Tigers added valuable runs in the closing overs.

The Tigers had earlier lost momentum despite a promising start from Kruthik Krishna (34 off 22) and Aneeshwar Gautam (31 off 18). Shubhang Hegde was the pick of the Bengaluru Blasters bowlers with figures of 2/24, while the rest of the attack chipped in to restrict further damage before the late surge.

Brief scores:

Hubli Tigers 196/6 in 20 overs (Shivkumar Rakshith 50 not out, Kruthik Krishna 34, Abhinav Manohar 35; Shubhang Hegde 2/24) lost to Bengaluru Blasters 197/7 in 20 overs (Praveen Dubey 64 not out, Shubhang Hegde 41; Shikhar Shetty 3-19, Vaibhav Sharma 2-56 ) by three wickets

–IANS

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