Maharaja T20 Trophy 2022 Points Table (Updated) after Bengaluru Blasters vs Gulbarga Mystics - August 8, 2022
Bengaluru Blasters began their Maharaja T20 Trophy 2022 campaign with a convincing 54-run win over Gulbarga Mystics on Monday at Mysuru.
Gulbarga Mystics won the toss and asked Bengaluru to bat first. LR Chethan and skipper Mayank Agarwal got the team off to the perfect start, adding 61 runs for the opening stand before Chethan was dismissed in the sixth over for 25. The tone was set for a big score and the batters to follow did a good job of keeping up the pace of the innings.
The Blasters lost Mayank soon after with the score at 86/2 in 8.2 overs. However, the skipper started the Maharaja T20 Trophy with a bang for his side. He blasted a 25-ball 52, hitting seven fours and two sixes at a strike-rate of 208, which also won him the ‘Player of the Match’ award later on.
Aneesh KV then steered the ship as he played a fine anchor innings from one end, with others playing quick and effective cameos on the other side. While Aneesh scored a 40-ball 44, Suraj Ahuja chipped in with a 13-ball 17. Kranthi Kumar applied the finishing touches, slamming a valuable 11-ball 22 towards the backend of the innings.
The Bengaluru Blasters ended up with a strong total of 189 on the board for the loss of eight wickets from their 20 overs. It was a job well done in the first half of the match and it was then up to the bowlers to defend the target.
Ronit More wrecked early havoc as he sent Karthik CA back to the hut on the very first delivery of the innings. He also dismissed opposition skipper Manish Pandey on the fifth delivery of the same over to leave Gulbarga in all sorts of trouble at 2/2 after the first over.
Rishi Bopanna then struck as he got the better of Devdutt Padikkal in the sixth over. The Bengaluru Blasters ran through Gulbarga’s top order in the powerplay itself to put them under serious pressure.
They kept picking up wickets at regular intervals and did not allow Gulbarga to build partnerships and make a comeback into the contest. It was a clinical performance with the ball as they bowled Gulbarga out for just 135 in 19.1 overs. Ronit More ended with four wickets while Kumar LR and Rishi Bopanna picked up two apiece.
Maharaja T20 Trophy 2022 updated table
Bengaluru Blasters started the Maharaja T20 Trophy 2022 on a positive note with a thumping win first up. With two points in the bag and a healthy net run-rate of +2.70, they are currently placed second in the table, equal on points with Mysuru Warriors but only behind them on net run-rate.
The Gulbarga Mystics will have a lot of catch-up to do, sitting fifth after their opening loss.