Mysore, June 20 (IANS) Bengaluru Blasters scored a thrilling six-wicket victory over Gulbarga Mystics in the opening match of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20 tournament in Mysore on Saturday.

Batting first, Gulbarga posted a challenging 201/5 in their 20 overs with handsome contributions from Prakhar Chaturvedi (64, 38 balls, 6 fours, 4 sixes) and Aarav Mahesh (63, 41 balls, 6 fours and 3 sixes).

A vital contribution by captain Manish Pandey (19) and a 12-ball 20 by Thippa Reddy boosted the total past 200. Shubhang Hegde and Shreevathsa Acharya claimed two wickets each for 44 and 36 runs respectively for Gulbarga.

Chasing 202 for victory, Bengaluru Blasters started confidently with Bhuvan Mohan Raju and Rohan Patil adding 88 runs for the opening partnership in 7.1 overs. They rotated the strike with clever strokes and kept the target in check. Bhuvan Mohan Raju’s 29-ball 56 (3 fours, 4 sixes, strike rate 193.10) in the end became the fulcrum on which Bangalore Blasters built their victory

Though the Mystics bounced back with a couple of quick wickets to reduce the Blasters to 122 for three in 11.3 overs, the initial good work done by the openers worked in their favour as they eventually coasted to victory with the final delivery.

Krishnan Shrijith and Shubhang Hegde were instrumental in the drive towards the target as they stitched together a decisive partnership after the fall of the openers.

Krishnan Shrijith made a 15-ball 22 (3 fours) and Shubhang Hegde a 26-ball 36 (2 fours, 1 six) to lead Bengaluru Blasters to a comfortable victory, though the margin may convey a close clash. Praveen Dubey gave the contest the finishing touch with an amazing 17-ball 32 (2 fours, 1 six).

Paras Gurbax Arya was the most successful bowler for Gulbarga with figures of 2 for 34, while Macneil Noronha and Dhruv Prabhakar claimed a wicket each for 27 and 29 runs respectively.

Brief scores:

Gulbarga Mystics 201/5 in 20 overs (Prakhar Chaturvedi 64, Aarav Mahesh 63; Shubhang Hegde 2-44, Shreevathsa Acharya 2-36) lost to Bengaluru Blasters 202/4 in 20 overs (Bhuvan Mohan Raju 56, Rohan Patil 31, Shubhang Hegde 36, Dubey 32 not out; Paras Gurbax Arya 2-34, Macneil Noronha 1-27, Dhruv Prabhakar 1-29) by by six wickets.

–IANS

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