Mysore, Aug 27 (IANS) Mangaluru Dragons secured a tight 7-wickets and 5-ball victory over Bengaluru Blasters in the Qualifier 2 of the Maharaja Trophy KSCA T20, at the Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Stadium on Wednesday to book their spot in the final.

Shreyas Gopal (3/30) and the Dragons put on a bowling masterclass in the first innings, restricting the Blasters to 152 in 19.4 overs despite Rohan Patil’s (86* off 52) explosive knock of seven fours and six sixes. Sharath BR (43 off 21) and Lochan Gowda (62* off 51) combined to put up 157/3 in 19.1 overs and send the Dragons to the Final.

Impact player Sharath BR began the chase for the Dragons on the front foot dispatching the Blasters’ bowling contingent for six fours and two sixes. While, Lochan Gowda played it safe, scoring one boundary and one six but ultimately helping the Dragons to 59 runs at the end of powerplay.

The Dragons looked to cruise for the rest of the match but Shubhang Hegde finally got the breakthrough for the Blasters in the seventh over, getting Sharath caught. Pallav Kumar (23 off 17) slotted right in, clearing the boundary twice and accelerating the Dragons’ chase. They looked well on course, needing 63 runs in 60 balls but Shubhang struck again in the 12th over, getting Pallav caught at the boundary.

Macneil Norohna stepped in but was unable to get settled right from the start and the Dragons managed to keep the scoreboard ticking with singles and sporadic boundaries. The game went right down to the wire with the Dragons needing 10 runs in 12 balls. Naveen M G then took matters into his hands, dismissing Macneil. The Dragons needed a single boundary to take control of the game and Lochan obliged, bringing up his half century, off 49 balls, in the process. Lochan struck up another six to close the chase comfortably and seal their spot in the Final with five balls to spare.

The Blasters’ openers began brightly with 14 runs in the first over, but Chethan LR (9 off 6) was stumped off Shreyas Gopal in the very next. Mayank Agarwal (9 off 4) tried to keep momentum with a boundary before falling lbw to Gopal in the fourth. Abhilash Shetty tightened the screws soon after, dismissing Shubhang Hegde (1 off 2) and Kruthik Krishna (0 off 2) cheaply.

Rohan Patil took charge, clearing the ropes twice and striking two fours to lift the side to 65/4 at the end of the powerplay. Suraj Ahuja (16 off 12) tried to steady the innings with three boundaries, but Gopal ended the 29-run partnership by having him caught at the boundary. The collapse continued as Vidhyadhar Patil (2 off 4) fell to Macniel Norohna, followed by Rohan Naveen (1 off 2) run out by Kranthi Kumar and Naveen MG (1 off 7) dismissed by Macniel. Rohan, however, brought up his half-century in 32 balls in the 13th over.

Impact player Akhil Sidharth (10 off 20) dug in to halt the slide, guiding the Blasters to 113/8 after 15 overs. Rohan shifted gears again, while Akhil perished to Kranthi Kumar in the 18th. Madhav Bajaj (5 off 5) added a late boundary before being run out, as Rohan smashed two sixes and a four in the final over to lift the Blasters to 152 all out in 19.4 overs.

–IANS

hs/