Huballi, June 27 (IANS) Bengaluru Blasters scored a thrilling seven-wicket victory over Shivomogga Yodhas in the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament on Thursday as the event moved its base from Mysuru to Huballi.

Chasing a challenging 174, the Blasters cruised along comfortably before Praveen Dubey’s 15-ball 39 (3×4, 3×5) and captain Shubhang Hedge (11 not out, 12 balls) stitched together a decisive 24-ball 60-run partnership for the unbroken fourth wicket to seal their fourth victory and consolidate their position at the top with eight points.

Blasters opener Rohan Patil laid the foundation for a comfortable chase, slamming a 46-ball 62 (5×4, 2×6), adding 65 runs in 7.3 overs for the opening wicket with Bhuvan Mohan Raju (29, 23 balls, 3×4, 1×6).

Patil was in an aggressive mood and punished anything bowled short or wide, and in the company of his vice-captain Krishnan Shrijith, added 54 runs off 40 balls for the third wicket after Raju departed. Patil did the bulk of the scoring, contributing 30 of those runs as Shrijith found timing the ball difficult.

But once Patil fell at 119 in the 14th over, and Shrijith followed four runs later, the Yodhas found themselves back in the reckoning.

However, Dubey and Hegde kept their cool, and with the target getting closer and closer, they played with composure and eventually saw their team home with an over to spare.

For the Yodhas, Naveen MG, Yashovardhan Parantap, and Shreesha Achar claimed a wicket each.

Earlier, Luvnith Sisodia (51, 32 balls, 6×4, 2×6) scored his third half-century and second in succession in the tournament to guide the Yodhas to 173 for six.

K V Aneesh (29, 24 balls, 4 fours) and captain Smaran Ravichandran (36*, 27 balls, 3×4) were the other main contributors.

Smaran still held the innings together with two key partnerships after the cheap dismissals of Harshil Dharmani (1) and Yashovardhan Parantap (0) off successive deliveries.

First, a 16-ball 20 with Tushar Singh (17, 13 balls, 2×4, 1×6) and, more crucially, a 20-ball 33 for the unbroken seventh wicket partnership with Bheem Rao Navale (19, 12 balls, 2×4) boosted the total.

The Yodhas clearly fell short by at least 20 runs despite the late burst, and that in the end proved decisive. For the Blasters, Rohan Raju claimed three wickets for 21 runs.

With this third defeat from five matches, the Yodhas stay on four points and in fourth position.

Brief scores:

Shivamogga Yodhas 173/6 in 20 overs (Luvnith Sisodia 51, K.V. Aneesh 29, Smaran Ravichandran 36 not out; Rohan Raju 3-21) lost to Bengaluru Blasters 177/3 in 19 overs (Rohan Patil 62, Praveen Dubey 39 not out, Bhuvan Mohan Raju 29) by seven wickets

–IANS

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